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Questions tagged [btrfs]

Btrfs is an integrated filesystem and volume manager, initially developed by Oracle. Use this tag for all questions related to Btrfs' commands and features, as well as volume and filesystem creation and management.

Btrfs (B-tree FS) is a new copy-on-write filesystem and volume manager for Linux aimed at implementing advanced features while focusing on fault tolerance, repair and easy administration. Initially developed by Oracle, Btrfs is licensed under the GPL and open for contribution from anyone.

Btrfs is a next-generation filesystem, with a number of advanced features, such as:

  • Volume and subvolume management
  • Copy-on-write operation
  • Data integrity verification and automatic repair
  • Native handling of standard RAID levels (however RAID5 and RAID6 are not considered production-ready)
  • Native handling of snapshots and backup/replication
  • Native data compression (with userspace option for deduplication)
  • In-place conversion of existing ext2/3/4 and reiserfs file systems
  • Maximum 16 Exabyte file size
  • Maximum 16 Exabyte volume size
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How can I resize and shrink a BTRFS partition?

I have my /home on a BTRFS partition and I need to shrink it. Unfortunately, Gparted does not have the resize option for this FS. Can I resize it in any other way without losing my data?
Borsook
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How can I flip a single bit in a file?

I want to intentionally damage a file in order to test the claims that btrfs can heal itself. The article talks about taking the filesystem off, damaging a photo by "flipping" a single bit and then remounting it. In older filesystems this would just…
Oli
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Will btrfs automatically compress existing files when compression is enabled?

I chose btrfs as the format of my / filesystem in the Ubuntu 12.04 LTS installer. After the installation completed, I added compress=lzo to the mount options in /etc/fstab and rebooted. Will the existing files be automatically compressed now, or…
ændrük
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31
votes
2 answers

Filesystem Label Rename

I'm getting a strange error quark 11 on renaming my filesystems on Ubuntu 12.10 64. I'm sure 100% I've already done it in the past without issues using the disk utility. Maybe some recent upgrade or I don't know what, but now I get an error: Don't…
DaniloV
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Message "Sparse file not allowed" after installing on a btrfs filesystem

I've installed Ubuntu without creating a swap partition and with / on a btrfs. Now I get the message "Sparse file is not allowed" on each boot. This message appears before the splash-screen. Is there a way to kill this warning?
FUZxxl
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How to make a btrfs snapshot?

My /home partition consists of an entire physical disk. It is formatted as btrfs. I want to snapshot it. I'm confused regarding subvolume naming, in particular. I am aware that there are similar questions, but each similar question seems to be…
MountainX
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7 answers

Can I have a swapfile on btrfs?

Modern Ubuntu versions are using a swap file instead of a swap partition by default. Before the 5.0 Linux kernel it was not possible to place a swap file on a btrfs partition, btrfs file system could be damaged. Now kernels support swap files on…
Pilot6
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Does Ubuntu plan to move to btrfs as default filesystem?

Btrfs seems to have a set of useful features such us snapshots and is default in Opensuse and Suse.Fedora plans to move to it. Does Ubuntu plan to move to it? If not, why ?
Dan
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How can I use Kernel 3.19 in 14.04 now?

So I'm rebuilding my storage server. For stability, I want to use Ubuntu server 14.04 LTS as the OS. However, I'm planning to use Btrfs with RAID 5, and this has been greatly improved in kernel 3.19. So I want to use that kernel with 14.04. I know…
Degenerate
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What is the current situation with BtrFS and 11.10?

It feels like I've read about BtrFS forever, but there has always been something that makes me not want to use it. But I'm guessing things are improving, so I'd like to know what the situation is currently. That means in 11.10. Do we have tools to…
Jo-Erlend Schinstad
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1 answer

How can I convert an ext4 partition to btrfs (or other file systems) without losing data?

I wish to convert my current /home partition to BTRFS (or other file systems) without losing data if possible, what steps should I take for this? is it safe?
Uri Herrera
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3 answers

What's the difference between Rsync & BTRFS Snapshots

Context: I was thinking about making snapshot for safety reasons, so I downloaded Timeshift but once installed, I have to make a choice between Rsync and BTRFS Snapshots I already read the documentation: Question: But considering I'm really new…
Ced
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Does Btrfs need defragmentation?

I have just installed Ubuntu 11.10 on the Btrfs filesystem. Do I really need to defragment files or the whole system? Defragment # btrfs filesystem defragment /pool1 Defragment Btrfs defragmentation
One Zero
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2 answers

How can I deduplicate my data with BTRFS?

I have installed Lubuntu 15.04 on my EEE PC 701 with the file-system BTRFS. I want to deduplicate my data, but I don't know how.
wb9688
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Ubuntu thinks Btrfs disk is full but it's not

$ cat /etc/fstab # UUID=a168d1ac-4e13-4643-976d-6e47ea1732b1 /boot ext2 defaults 0…
redanimalwar
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