From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: util-linux-owner@vger.kernel.org Received: from resqmta-po-07v.sys.comcast.net ([96.114.154.166]:57480 "EHLO resqmta-po-07v.sys.comcast.net" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S933239AbaJ2O21 (ORCPT ); Wed, 29 Oct 2014 10:28:27 -0400 Received: from hobgoblin.ariadne.com (hobgoblin.ariadne.com [127.0.0.1]) by hobgoblin.ariadne.com (8.14.7/8.14.7) with ESMTP id s9TESPKd031304 for ; Wed, 29 Oct 2014 10:28:25 -0400 Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 10:28:24 -0400 Message-Id: <201410291428.s9TESOrd031303@hobgoblin.ariadne.com> From: worley@alum.mit.edu (Dale R. Worley) To: util-linux@vger.kernel.org In-reply-to: <544FCE46.2090709@tlinx.org> (lkml@tlinx.org) Subject: Re: fdisk and 2048 sectors obsession. References: <544E923E.6050406@gmail.com> <544E97ED.7040406@earthlink.net> <544F0C88.1080807@gmail.com> <544F3B20.7090109@gmail.com> <544FA923.5080205@gmail.com> <544FCE46.2090709@tlinx.org> Sender: util-linux-owner@vger.kernel.org List-ID: It seems quite obvious to me -- New technologies are likely to make the natural block size larger over time. Where by "natural block size", I mean the block alignment necessary to get highest performance out of the device/system. You don't want to have to keep modifying your disk structuring software every time a new technology comes out that has a larger natural block size -- and then discover you've got to reorganize all your disk images. By going to 1 MiB alignment now, we may be able to keep the alignment and allocation policies stable for ten or twenty years. If you have a good reason to use a smaller alignment, the software lets you override the default. But the default minimizes the trouble you risk in the future. Dale