Re: [Ext2-devel] [RFC 0/13] extents and 48bit ext3

[Helge Hafting <helge.hafting@aitel.hist.no>]

Alex Tomas wrote:
> > > > > > Jeff Garzik (JG) writes:
> > > > > >             
>
>  JG> No, there is a key difference between ext3 and SCSI/etc.:  cruft is removed.
>
>  JG> In ext3, old formats are supported for all eternity.
>
> we'd need this anyway. just to let users to migrate.
>   
Not really.  Today, people use reiserfs even though they couldn't
just remount their old ext2 as reiserfs.

An ext2/ext3-incompatible ext4 isn't a problem.  Sure, people will
have to mkfs instead of just remounting, and that will mean fewer
quick conversions in the short-term.  But people using ext3 today
don't really need ext4 - they are per definition running on sufficiently
small disks/partitions.

So an incompatible ext4 will still see use - on new filesystems mostly.
Not a problem, people buy disks all the time.

Helge Hafting



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