doesn’t bcache use its own partition type? so an existing partition cannot be used, and so it cannot benefit from compression that certain filesystems could provide.
Comment on Transparent Data Tiering on Linux: Why I chose fanotify over FUSE for HuskHoard
randy@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Sounds like it has similar goals to bcache (not bcachefs) and LVM cachinch, except that it operates in userspace instead of at the kernel level. Can you explain what the benefits are of keeping this out of the kernel?
WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
deepthinker@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
hey thanks for the question. you are right there is some overlap with bcache but the big difference is that bcache is block level and huskhoard is file level. keeping it out of the kernel is mostly about safety and portability. if a kernel module panics it takes down your whole server but if a userspace daemon crashes you just restart it. also kernel dev is a nightmare for things like cloud integration… i can use rclone or complex rust libraries for zstd jump tables in userspace way easier than i could in the kernel. it also lets us be file aware. bcache just sees blocks but we can set policies based on file type or age or owner tags which the kernel doesnt really know about. plus it makes it way easier to move between different linux distros or even nas os like truenas without fighting with dkms or kernel versions. basically i wanted the storage intelligence to be portable and safe so you dont have to be a kernel dev to manage your archive