Re: [PATCH 5/7] vfs: Add wbcflush sysfs knob to disable storage device writeback cache flushes

Jens Axboe
2009-03-30T18:00:12Z

On Mon, Mar 30 2009, Jeff Garzik wrote:
> Jens Axboe wrote:
>> On Mon, Mar 30 2009, Bartlomiej Zolnierkiewicz wrote:
>>> On Monday 30 March 2009, Fernando Luis Vázquez Cao wrote:
>>>> Add a sysfs knob to disable storage device writeback cache flushes.
>>> The horde of casual desktop users (with me included) would probably prefer
>>> having two settings -- one for filesystem barriers and one for fsync().
>>>
>>> IOW I prefer higher performance at the cost of risking losing few last
>>> seconds/minutes of work in case of crash / powerfailure but I would still
>>> like to have the filesystem in the consistent state after such accident.
>>
>> The knob is meant to control whether we really need to send a flush to
>> the device or not, so it's an orthogonal issue to what you are talking
>> about. For battery backed caches, we never need to flush. This knob is
>> useful IFF we have devices with write back caches that STILL do a cache
>> flush.
>
> How do installers and/or kernels detect a battery-backed cache that does
> not need flush?

They obviously can't, otherwise it would not be an issue at all. And
whether it's an issue is up for debate, until someone can point at such
a device. You could add a white/blacklist.

So either that knob has to be turned by an administrator (yeah...), or
the in-kernel info would have to be updated. Or a udev rule.

--
Jens Axboe