how to online resize ext3 when fs does not support it?

how to online resize ext3 when fs does not support it?

[Tomasz Chmielewski]

I have a fairly large ext3 filesystem created some time ago, which 
doesn't support online resizing.

# resize2fs -p /dev/sdaz
resize2fs 1.40.2 (12-Jul-2007)
Filesystem at /dev/sdaz is mounted on /mnt/iscsi_backup; on-line 
resizing required
old desc_blocks = 77, new_desc_blocks = 87
resize2fs: Filesystem does not support online resizing


Is is possible to add resize_inode feature to an existing ext3 filesystem?

My tune2fs manual (from e2fsprogs 1.40.2) doesn't state adding 
"resize_inode" is possible, and newer e2fsprogs releases only support 
removing resize_inode feature.
Will adding resize_inode be supported in the future, or is it definitely 
"is not, won't be possible"?


-- 
Tomasz Chmielewski
http://wpkg.org

Re: how to online resize ext3 when fs does not support it?

[Andreas Dilger]

On Jun 30, 2008  11:48 +0200, Tomasz Chmielewski wrote:
> I have a fairly large ext3 filesystem created some time ago, which  
> doesn't support online resizing.
>
> # resize2fs -p /dev/sdaz
> resize2fs 1.40.2 (12-Jul-2007)
> Filesystem at /dev/sdaz is mounted on /mnt/iscsi_backup; on-line  
> resizing required
> old desc_blocks = 77, new_desc_blocks = 87
> resize2fs: Filesystem does not support online resizing
>
>
> Is is possible to add resize_inode feature to an existing ext3 filesystem?
>
> My tune2fs manual (from e2fsprogs 1.40.2) doesn't state adding  
> "resize_inode" is possible, and newer e2fsprogs releases only support  
> removing resize_inode feature.
> Will adding resize_inode be supported in the future, or is it definitely  
> "is not, won't be possible"?

Adding "resize_inode" feature to an existing filesystem is possible with
an old tool called "ext2prepare", part of "ext2resize" tools I wrote.
I've long given up maintaining those tools, but it is possible your
filesystem is also old enough to not have any of the incompatible 
features that might confuse ext2prepare.

I'd suggest having a backup of your filesystem in any case, because that
is just prudent behaviour, as there is always a non-zero risk of problems
during resize.

Cheers, Andreas
--
Andreas Dilger
Sr. Staff Engineer, Lustre Group
Sun Microsystems of Canada, Inc.