diff --git a/mkdocs/docs/index.md b/mkdocs/docs/index.md index 72e1efcd..a96588c0 100644 --- a/mkdocs/docs/index.md +++ b/mkdocs/docs/index.md @@ -1,14 +1,41 @@ # mergerfs - a featureful union filesystem -**mergerfs** is a -[FUSE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filesystem_in_Userspace) based -[union filesystem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_mount) geared -towards simplifying storage and management of files across numerous -commodity storage devices. It is similar to [**mhddfs**, **unionfs**, -**aufs**, **DrivePool**, etc.](project_comparisons.md) Allowing for -the aggregation of storage without the more rigid requirements and -failure conditions of [RAID and other -technologies](project_comparisons.md). +**mergerfs** is a [union +filesystem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_mount) that makes +multiple storage devices or filesystems appear as a single unified +directory. Built on [FUSE (Filesystem in +Userspace)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filesystem_in_Userspace), it +is designed to simplify how you manage files across several +independent filesystems without the complexity, fragility, or cost of +RAID or similar storage aggregation technologies. + +Think of mergerfs as a smart pooling layer: you can combine any number +of [existing +filesystems](faq/usage_and_functionality.md#can-mergerfs-be-used-with-filesystems-which-already-have-data) +— whether they are on hard drives, SSDs, network shares, or other +mounted storage — into what looks like one large filesystem, while +still maintaining direct access to each individual filesystem. Unlike +RAID, there's no rebuild process if a device fails. You only lose the +files that were on that specific filesystem. You can also add or +remove filesystems at any time without restructuring your entire pool. + +mergerfs excels at cost-effective storage expansion, making it ideal +for media libraries, backups, archival data, and other write-sometimes, +read-often workloads where you need lots of space but don't want +the overhead of traditional storage technologies. + +**Key advantages:** + +* Mix and match filesystems of any size, type, or underlying device +* No parity calculations or rebuild times +* Add or remove filesystems on the fly +* Direct access to files on individual filesystems when needed +* Flexible policies for controlling where new files are created + +For users seeking alternatives to mhddfs, unionfs, aufs, or DrivePool, +mergerfs offers a mature, actively maintained solution with extensive +configuration options and documentation. See the [project comparisons +for more comparisons.](project_comparisons.md) ## Features @@ -19,7 +46,7 @@ technologies](project_comparisons.md). * Ability to add or remove filesystems/paths without impacting the rest of the data * Unaffected by individual filesystem failure -* Configurable file selection and creation placement +* Configurable file creation placement * File IO [passthrough](config/passthrough.md) for near native IO performance (where supported) * Works with filesystems of any size @@ -28,7 +55,7 @@ technologies](project_comparisons.md). * Ignore read-only filesystems when creating files * [Hard links](faq/technical_behavior_and_limitations.md#do-hard-links-work) * Hard link [copy-on-write / CoW](config/link-cow.md) -* [Runtime configurable](runtime_interface.md) +* [Runtime configurability](runtime_interface.md) * Support for extended attributes (xattrs) * Support for file attributes (chattr) * Support for POSIX ACLs @@ -36,12 +63,14 @@ technologies](project_comparisons.md). ## Non-features -* Read/write overlay on top of read-only filesystem like OverlayFS -* File whiteout * RAID like redundancy (see [SnapRAID](https://www.snapraid.it) and [NonRAID](https://github.com/qvr/nonraid)) -* Redundancy +* LVM/RAID style block device aggregation +* Data integrity checks, snapshots, file versioning +* Read/write overlays on top of read-only filesystems (like OverlayFS) +* File whiteout * Splitting of files across branches +* Active rebalancing of content ## How it works @@ -62,7 +91,7 @@ For functions which change attributes or remove the file the behavior may be applied to all instances found. The way in which mergerfs behaves is controlled by the -[config/options/settings](config/options.md). More specifically by +[config / options / settings](config/options.md). More specifically by [policies](config/functions_categories_policies.md). @@ -90,7 +119,6 @@ A + B = C +-- file7 +-- file7 +-- file7 ``` - ## Getting Started Head to the [quick start guide](quickstart.md). @@ -107,3 +135,6 @@ Head to the [quick start guide](quickstart.md). like something is not explained sufficiently or missing please [ask in one of the supported forums](support.md#contact-issue-submission) and the docs will be updated. +* The search feature of MkDocs is not great. Searching for "literal + strings" will generally not work. Alernative solutions are being + investigated.