Linux-kernel mailing list archive 1999-23,: Re: Migrating to larger numbers

# Re: Migrating to larger numbers

Riley Williams (rhw@MemAlpha.CX)
Tue, 8 Jun 1999 17:49:29 +0100 (GMT)

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Hi Peter.

>>> I wonder if it might be possible to do something special for
>>> NFS, like maybe make for NFS consumption a special file system
>>> where specific 64 bit device numbers are mapped into a 32 bit
>>> range... [And didn't I already see some posts about device
>>> number aliasing?]

>> Nobody else has needed more than 32bits. Show me a case it is
>> needed and an OS that suffers from using 32bits. Then you can
>> argue about ruining NFS interoperability for the sake of some
>> airy number guessing.

> The SCSI people are the main people that have asked for it.

> Note that I didn't say that we should do this... I only said
> let's keep the remaining bits in our back pocket as spares; I
> wasn't proposing we would actively use them.

So what you're basically suggeesting is that we insert a reserved
32-bit field next to the proposed 32-bit one in all the relevant
structures so we can expand at a future date if necessary without
mangling all the offsets and causing another round of incompatible
software...

Best wishes from Riley.

+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| There is something frustrating about the quality and speed of Linux |
| development, ie., the quality is too high and the speed is too high, |
| in other words, I can implement this XXXX feature, but I bet someone |
| else has already done so and is just about to release their patch. |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
* ftp://ftp.MemAlpha.cx/pub/rhw/Linux
* http://www.MemAlpha.cx/kernel.versions.html

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