Project GRUDS (Grand Unified Disk Storage)
Goal: Edit and rewrite the scattered, repetitive, and conflicting Handbook
sections on disk storage into a unified group. This would be a separate
<part> in the Handbook, starting where chapter 19, Storage, currently
begins.
The problem: Right now there are at least three different places in the
Handbook show disk partitioning methods and guidelines. All are
different, and none really complete. An in-depth chapter on
partitioning would allow sections to link to it and dispense with long
explanations that distract from the current topic. Besides reducing
redundancy, this would make many sections shorter and let users familiar
with the concepts skip ahead easily.
It's a big project, but even as a plan would help future Handbook
contributions go in the right place.
Tentative outline:
Part 4:Disk Storage
Introduction
Quick start
links to current methods for
mirror (gmirror and ZFS)
BIOS RAID (graid)
RAID-5/RAID-Z (ZFS)
Disk Hardware Chapter
Introduction
Blocks
512-byte
Advanced Format
Hardware RAID versus software RAID
Comparison, advantages and disadvantages
HAST?
Device names
SATA, IDE, SCSI, USB, most common hardware RAID device names
Conclusion
Disk Partitions Chapter
Introduction
Partitioning Schemes
Metadata (types, locations, conflicts)
MBR
GPT
Others
Conclusion
Labels Chapter (expanded from existing GEOM "Labeling Disk Devices")
Introduction
easy device relocatability
provided by geom_label (others?)
GPT labels
Generic labels (glabel(8))
Filesystem labels
"Unique ID" labels
GPT UUID
ufsid
others?
Conclusion
GEOM Chapter ("Disk Device Transformations with GEOM"?)
Introduction
what is GEOM?
from existing GEOM chapter
additional section on graid(8)
sorted in order of most common usage (gmirror, graid, ...)
Conclusion
Filesystems Chapter
Introduction
what are filesystems?
UFS
traditional split-filesystem layout
newer, unified everything in root layout
Other filesystems
ext2, NTFS, etc
mention NFS, with pointer to NFS section in "Network Servers"
mention ZFS, and how it is more than a filesystem, and will be
covered in the next chapter
Conclusion
ZFS Chapter
neither fish nor fowl, it's a dessert topping *and* a floor wax
both device and filesystem
Introduction
what is it?
brief mention of best capabilities
in-depth
Conclusion
Backup Chapter
Introduction
UFS Backup (main part from existing Storage chapter)
ZFS Backup
Conclusion
_______________________________________________
[email protected] mailing list
http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-doc
To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[email protected]"
