Interrupting fsck during startup

[Ben Scott]

2009/3/27 Tom Buskey <tom at buskey.name>:
> Shutdown cleanly so your system doesn't have to fsck.
> If you're not using shutdown -h to get a clean shutdown, you should expect
> to fsck.
>
> /* Snarky reply */
> Use a file system that doesn't fsck.
> Like ZFS (only OpenSolaris ).

  I don't mean to imply that ZFS isn't better than life itself (since
all the ZFS fans keep telling me it is), but EXT3 with journaling has
been around for several years and doesn't fsck on unclean shutdown.

  "preen" refers to the fact that most Linux systems are configured to
do a periodic fsck even through the filesystem doesn't need it.  Call
it what you like -- paranoia, belt-and-suspenders, good engineering.

  There's really no reason a consistency checker couldn't be
implemented for ZFS, i.e., to make sure the kernel filesystem driver
hasn't made a boo-boo, so it's somewhat similar in concept.  Not quite
the same, since ZFS actually has self-healing mechanisms in the kernel
driver, or so I've read.  The EXT3 driver's response to errors is
(depending on configuration) to either (1) warn and continue, (2)
re-mount read-only, or (3) kernel panic.  Not quite the same as
self-healing.  :)

-- Ben