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

# Re: Migrating to larger numbers

H. Peter Anvin (hpa@transmeta.com)
Tue, 08 Jun 1999 12:59:55 -0700

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Riley Williams wrote:
>
> 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.
>

Yes, basically (actually I'm proposing the bits be interspersed.)

-hpa

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