vmstech wrote:
hi I read ( I think in dovecot wiki) that ext2 or ext3 fs on a 2.4 kernel can get slow due to the number of files in a directory. Does anyone know if kernel 2.6 has similar limitation? I'm not at that point now, but before the box goes live, I'm wondering if I should resolve that. Glenn
Having quickly scanned this thread and seen many stories both ways and horrors from using anything on a disk, I thought I'd present one thing that should weight heavy for everyone, no matter what filesystems and drives you use, have used, lost data on or saved the day with:
Stick with what you already use, unless there is a really overwhelming reason not to. In my case I run a good few machines and only use ext3, and yes I know that I could squeeze out more speed by adopting reiserfs in places, or some other feature, but ask yourself this: admin-wise, what is the overhead in having to deal with one extra item to solve a very specific problem in one single spot?
In my case it would mean to have to learn the works for a different filesystem than I already use. ext3 with dir_index solves the problem 90% for us, and everything remains the same admin-wise. If someone at the PHB-level wants that extra performance, explain it nicely in terms of cost for extra knowledge, or a simple: buy better iron.
my two cents, Alexander
PS: to at least have mentioned dovecot in my reply: it works a bit too well, I haven't had a problem with it yet :D