mirror of https://github.com/trapexit/mergerfs.git
				
				
			
			You can not select more than 25 topics
			Topics must start with a letter or number, can include dashes ('-') and can be up to 35 characters long.
		
		
		
		
		
			
		
			
				
					
					
						
							2557 lines
						
					
					
						
							58 KiB
						
					
					
				
			
		
		
		
			
			
			
		
		
	
	
							2557 lines
						
					
					
						
							58 KiB
						
					
					
				
								
							 | 
						|
								<!doctype html>
							 | 
						|
								<html lang="en" class="no-js">
							 | 
						|
								  <head>
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      <meta charset="utf-8">
							 | 
						|
								      <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1">
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        <meta name="description" content="mergerfs - a featureful union filesystem">
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        <link rel="canonical" href="https://trapexit.github.io/mergerfs/preview/intro_to_filesystems/">
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        <link rel="prev" href="../terminology/">
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        <link rel="next" href="../config/options/">
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      <link rel="icon" href="../logo.png">
							 | 
						|
								      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.6.1, mkdocs-material-9.6.20">
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        <title>Intro to Filesystems - mergerfs</title>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/stylesheets/main.e53b48f4.min.css">
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								        <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/stylesheets/palette.06af60db.min.css">
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								        <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin>
							 | 
						|
								        <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Roboto:300,300i,400,400i,700,700i%7CRoboto+Mono:400,400i,700,700i&display=fallback">
							 | 
						|
								        <style>:root{--md-text-font:"Roboto";--md-code-font:"Roboto Mono"}</style>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    <script>__md_scope=new URL("..",location),__md_hash=e=>[...e].reduce(((e,_)=>(e<<5)-e+_.charCodeAt(0)),0),__md_get=(e,_=localStorage,t=__md_scope)=>JSON.parse(_.getItem(t.pathname+"."+e)),__md_set=(e,_,t=localStorage,a=__md_scope)=>{try{t.setItem(a.pathname+"."+e,JSON.stringify(_))}catch(e){}}</script>
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </head>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    <body dir="ltr" data-md-color-scheme="default" data-md-color-primary="indigo" data-md-color-accent="indigo">
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    <input class="md-toggle" data-md-toggle="drawer" type="checkbox" id="__drawer" autocomplete="off">
							 | 
						|
								    <input class="md-toggle" data-md-toggle="search" type="checkbox" id="__search" autocomplete="off">
							 | 
						|
								    <label class="md-overlay" for="__drawer"></label>
							 | 
						|
								    <div data-md-component="skip">
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								        <a href="#intro-to-filesystems" class="md-skip">
							 | 
						|
								          Skip to content
							 | 
						|
								        </a>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								    </div>
							 | 
						|
								    <div data-md-component="announce">
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								    </div>
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      <div data-md-color-scheme="default" data-md-component="outdated" hidden>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								      </div>
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								<header class="md-header md-header--shadow" data-md-component="header">
							 | 
						|
								  <nav class="md-header__inner md-grid" aria-label="Header">
							 | 
						|
								    <a href=".." title="mergerfs" class="md-header__button md-logo" aria-label="mergerfs" data-md-component="logo">
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  <img src="../logo.png" alt="logo">
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    </a>
							 | 
						|
								    <label class="md-header__button md-icon" for="__drawer">
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M3 6h18v2H3zm0 5h18v2H3zm0 5h18v2H3z"/></svg>
							 | 
						|
								    </label>
							 | 
						|
								    <div class="md-header__title" data-md-component="header-title">
							 | 
						|
								      <div class="md-header__ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								        <div class="md-header__topic">
							 | 
						|
								          <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								            mergerfs
							 | 
						|
								          </span>
							 | 
						|
								        </div>
							 | 
						|
								        <div class="md-header__topic" data-md-component="header-topic">
							 | 
						|
								          <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              Intro to Filesystems
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								          </span>
							 | 
						|
								        </div>
							 | 
						|
								      </div>
							 | 
						|
								    </div>
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        <form class="md-header__option" data-md-component="palette">
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    <input class="md-option" data-md-color-media="(prefers-color-scheme)" data-md-color-scheme="default" data-md-color-primary="indigo" data-md-color-accent="indigo"  aria-label="Switch to light mode"  type="radio" name="__palette" id="__palette_0">
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      <label class="md-header__button md-icon" title="Switch to light mode" for="__palette_1" hidden>
							 | 
						|
								        <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="m14.3 16-.7-2h-3.2l-.7 2H7.8L11 7h2l3.2 9zM20 8.69V4h-4.69L12 .69 8.69 4H4v4.69L.69 12 4 15.31V20h4.69L12 23.31 15.31 20H20v-4.69L23.31 12zm-9.15 3.96h2.3L12 9z"/></svg>
							 | 
						|
								      </label>
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    <input class="md-option" data-md-color-media="(prefers-color-scheme: light)" data-md-color-scheme="default" data-md-color-primary="indigo" data-md-color-accent="indigo"  aria-label="Switch to dark mode"  type="radio" name="__palette" id="__palette_1">
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      <label class="md-header__button md-icon" title="Switch to dark mode" for="__palette_2" hidden>
							 | 
						|
								        <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M12 8a4 4 0 0 0-4 4 4 4 0 0 0 4 4 4 4 0 0 0 4-4 4 4 0 0 0-4-4m0 10a6 6 0 0 1-6-6 6 6 0 0 1 6-6 6 6 0 0 1 6 6 6 6 0 0 1-6 6m8-9.31V4h-4.69L12 .69 8.69 4H4v4.69L.69 12 4 15.31V20h4.69L12 23.31 15.31 20H20v-4.69L23.31 12z"/></svg>
							 | 
						|
								      </label>
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    <input class="md-option" data-md-color-media="(prefers-color-scheme: dark)" data-md-color-scheme="slate" data-md-color-primary="indigo" data-md-color-accent="indigo"  aria-label="Switch to system preference"  type="radio" name="__palette" id="__palette_2">
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      <label class="md-header__button md-icon" title="Switch to system preference" for="__palette_0" hidden>
							 | 
						|
								        <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M12 18c-.89 0-1.74-.2-2.5-.55C11.56 16.5 13 14.42 13 12s-1.44-4.5-3.5-5.45C10.26 6.2 11.11 6 12 6a6 6 0 0 1 6 6 6 6 0 0 1-6 6m8-9.31V4h-4.69L12 .69 8.69 4H4v4.69L.69 12 4 15.31V20h4.69L12 23.31 15.31 20H20v-4.69L23.31 12z"/></svg>
							 | 
						|
								      </label>
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</form>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      <script>var palette=__md_get("__palette");if(palette&&palette.color){if("(prefers-color-scheme)"===palette.color.media){var media=matchMedia("(prefers-color-scheme: light)"),input=document.querySelector(media.matches?"[data-md-color-media='(prefers-color-scheme: light)']":"[data-md-color-media='(prefers-color-scheme: dark)']");palette.color.media=input.getAttribute("data-md-color-media"),palette.color.scheme=input.getAttribute("data-md-color-scheme"),palette.color.primary=input.getAttribute("data-md-color-primary"),palette.color.accent=input.getAttribute("data-md-color-accent")}for(var[key,value]of Object.entries(palette.color))document.body.setAttribute("data-md-color-"+key,value)}</script>
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        <label class="md-header__button md-icon" for="__search">
							 | 
						|
								          
							 | 
						|
								          <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M9.5 3A6.5 6.5 0 0 1 16 9.5c0 1.61-.59 3.09-1.56 4.23l.27.27h.79l5 5-1.5 1.5-5-5v-.79l-.27-.27A6.52 6.52 0 0 1 9.5 16 6.5 6.5 0 0 1 3 9.5 6.5 6.5 0 0 1 9.5 3m0 2C7 5 5 7 5 9.5S7 14 9.5 14 14 12 14 9.5 12 5 9.5 5"/></svg>
							 | 
						|
								        </label>
							 | 
						|
								        <div class="md-search" data-md-component="search" role="dialog">
							 | 
						|
								  <label class="md-search__overlay" for="__search"></label>
							 | 
						|
								  <div class="md-search__inner" role="search">
							 | 
						|
								    <form class="md-search__form" name="search">
							 | 
						|
								      <input type="text" class="md-search__input" name="query" aria-label="Search" placeholder="Search" autocapitalize="off" autocorrect="off" autocomplete="off" spellcheck="false" data-md-component="search-query" required>
							 | 
						|
								      <label class="md-search__icon md-icon" for="__search">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								        <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M9.5 3A6.5 6.5 0 0 1 16 9.5c0 1.61-.59 3.09-1.56 4.23l.27.27h.79l5 5-1.5 1.5-5-5v-.79l-.27-.27A6.52 6.52 0 0 1 9.5 16 6.5 6.5 0 0 1 3 9.5 6.5 6.5 0 0 1 9.5 3m0 2C7 5 5 7 5 9.5S7 14 9.5 14 14 12 14 9.5 12 5 9.5 5"/></svg>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								        <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M20 11v2H8l5.5 5.5-1.42 1.42L4.16 12l7.92-7.92L13.5 5.5 8 11z"/></svg>
							 | 
						|
								      </label>
							 | 
						|
								      <nav class="md-search__options" aria-label="Search">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="md-search__icon md-icon" title="Share" aria-label="Share" data-clipboard data-clipboard-text="" data-md-component="search-share" tabindex="-1">
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M18 16.08c-.76 0-1.44.3-1.96.77L8.91 12.7c.05-.23.09-.46.09-.7s-.04-.47-.09-.7l7.05-4.11c.54.5 1.25.81 2.04.81a3 3 0 0 0 3-3 3 3 0 0 0-3-3 3 3 0 0 0-3 3c0 .24.04.47.09.7L8.04 9.81C7.5 9.31 6.79 9 6 9a3 3 0 0 0-3 3 3 3 0 0 0 3 3c.79 0 1.5-.31 2.04-.81l7.12 4.15c-.05.21-.08.43-.08.66 0 1.61 1.31 2.91 2.92 2.91s2.92-1.3 2.92-2.91A2.92 2.92 0 0 0 18 16.08"/></svg>
							 | 
						|
								          </a>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								        <button type="reset" class="md-search__icon md-icon" title="Clear" aria-label="Clear" tabindex="-1">
							 | 
						|
								          
							 | 
						|
								          <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M19 6.41 17.59 5 12 10.59 6.41 5 5 6.41 10.59 12 5 17.59 6.41 19 12 13.41 17.59 19 19 17.59 13.41 12z"/></svg>
							 | 
						|
								        </button>
							 | 
						|
								      </nav>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        <div class="md-search__suggest" data-md-component="search-suggest"></div>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								    </form>
							 | 
						|
								    <div class="md-search__output">
							 | 
						|
								      <div class="md-search__scrollwrap" tabindex="0" data-md-scrollfix>
							 | 
						|
								        <div class="md-search-result" data-md-component="search-result">
							 | 
						|
								          <div class="md-search-result__meta">
							 | 
						|
								            Initializing search
							 | 
						|
								          </div>
							 | 
						|
								          <ol class="md-search-result__list" role="presentation"></ol>
							 | 
						|
								        </div>
							 | 
						|
								      </div>
							 | 
						|
								    </div>
							 | 
						|
								  </div>
							 | 
						|
								</div>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      <div class="md-header__source">
							 | 
						|
								        <a href="https://github.com/trapexit/mergerfs" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-component="source">
							 | 
						|
								  <div class="md-source__icon md-icon">
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 512"><!--! Font Awesome Free 7.0.0 by @fontawesome - https://fontawesome.com License - https://fontawesome.com/license/free (Icons: CC BY 4.0, Fonts: SIL OFL 1.1, Code: MIT License) Copyright 2025 Fonticons, Inc.--><path d="M439.6 236.1 244 40.5c-5.4-5.5-12.8-8.5-20.4-8.5s-15 3-20.4 8.4L162.5 81l51.5 51.5c27.1-9.1 52.7 16.8 43.4 43.7l49.7 49.7c34.2-11.8 61.2 31 35.5 56.7-26.5 26.5-70.2-2.9-56-37.3L240.3 199v121.9c25.3 12.5 22.3 41.8 9.1 55-6.4 6.4-15.2 10.1-24.3 10.1s-17.8-3.6-24.3-10.1c-17.6-17.6-11.1-46.9 11.2-56v-123c-20.8-8.5-24.6-30.7-18.6-45L142.6 101 8.5 235.1C3 240.6 0 247.9 0 255.5s3 15 8.5 20.4l195.6 195.7c5.4 5.4 12.7 8.4 20.4 8.4s15-3 20.4-8.4l194.7-194.7c5.4-5.4 8.4-12.8 8.4-20.4s-3-15-8.4-20.4"/></svg>
							 | 
						|
								  </div>
							 | 
						|
								  <div class="md-source__repository">
							 | 
						|
								    mergerfs
							 | 
						|
								  </div>
							 | 
						|
								</a>
							 | 
						|
								      </div>
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </nav>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</header>
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    <div class="md-container" data-md-component="container">
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      <main class="md-main" data-md-component="main">
							 | 
						|
								        <div class="md-main__inner md-grid">
							 | 
						|
								          
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								              <div class="md-sidebar md-sidebar--primary" data-md-component="sidebar" data-md-type="navigation" >
							 | 
						|
								                <div class="md-sidebar__scrollwrap">
							 | 
						|
								                  <div class="md-sidebar__inner">
							 | 
						|
								                    
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								<nav class="md-nav md-nav--primary" aria-label="Navigation" data-md-level="0">
							 | 
						|
								  <label class="md-nav__title" for="__drawer">
							 | 
						|
								    <a href=".." title="mergerfs" class="md-nav__button md-logo" aria-label="mergerfs" data-md-component="logo">
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  <img src="../logo.png" alt="logo">
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    </a>
							 | 
						|
								    mergerfs
							 | 
						|
								  </label>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <div class="md-nav__source">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="https://github.com/trapexit/mergerfs" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-component="source">
							 | 
						|
								  <div class="md-source__icon md-icon">
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 512"><!--! Font Awesome Free 7.0.0 by @fontawesome - https://fontawesome.com License - https://fontawesome.com/license/free (Icons: CC BY 4.0, Fonts: SIL OFL 1.1, Code: MIT License) Copyright 2025 Fonticons, Inc.--><path d="M439.6 236.1 244 40.5c-5.4-5.5-12.8-8.5-20.4-8.5s-15 3-20.4 8.4L162.5 81l51.5 51.5c27.1-9.1 52.7 16.8 43.4 43.7l49.7 49.7c34.2-11.8 61.2 31 35.5 56.7-26.5 26.5-70.2-2.9-56-37.3L240.3 199v121.9c25.3 12.5 22.3 41.8 9.1 55-6.4 6.4-15.2 10.1-24.3 10.1s-17.8-3.6-24.3-10.1c-17.6-17.6-11.1-46.9 11.2-56v-123c-20.8-8.5-24.6-30.7-18.6-45L142.6 101 8.5 235.1C3 240.6 0 247.9 0 255.5s3 15 8.5 20.4l195.6 195.7c5.4 5.4 12.7 8.4 20.4 8.4s15-3 20.4-8.4l194.7-194.7c5.4-5.4 8.4-12.8 8.4-20.4s-3-15-8.4-20.4"/></svg>
							 | 
						|
								  </div>
							 | 
						|
								  <div class="md-source__repository">
							 | 
						|
								    mergerfs
							 | 
						|
								  </div>
							 | 
						|
								</a>
							 | 
						|
								    </div>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix>
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href=".." class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Home
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../quickstart/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    QuickStart
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item md-nav__item--nested">
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								        <input class="md-nav__toggle md-toggle " type="checkbox" id="__nav_3" >
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          
							 | 
						|
								          <label class="md-nav__link" for="__nav_3" id="__nav_3_label" tabindex="0">
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Installation
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								            <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span>
							 | 
						|
								          </label>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								        <nav class="md-nav" data-md-level="1" aria-labelledby="__nav_3_label" aria-expanded="false">
							 | 
						|
								          <label class="md-nav__title" for="__nav_3">
							 | 
						|
								            <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span>
							 | 
						|
								            Installation
							 | 
						|
								          </label>
							 | 
						|
								          <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix>
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../setup/installation/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Installation
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../setup/upgrade/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Upgrade
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../setup/build/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Build
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								          </ul>
							 | 
						|
								        </nav>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../terminology/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Terminology
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item md-nav__item--active">
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      <input class="md-nav__toggle md-toggle" type="checkbox" id="__toc">
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        <label class="md-nav__link md-nav__link--active" for="__toc">
							 | 
						|
								          
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Intro to Filesystems
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								          <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span>
							 | 
						|
								        </label>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="./" class="md-nav__link md-nav__link--active">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Intro to Filesystems
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								<nav class="md-nav md-nav--secondary" aria-label="Table of contents">
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <label class="md-nav__title" for="__toc">
							 | 
						|
								      <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span>
							 | 
						|
								      Table of contents
							 | 
						|
								    </label>
							 | 
						|
								    <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-component="toc" data-md-scrollfix>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#terminology" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      Terminology
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#files" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      Files
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <nav class="md-nav" aria-label="Files">
							 | 
						|
								      <ul class="md-nav__list">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#types" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      Types
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#inodes" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      inodes
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#links-names" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      links / names
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#permissions" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      permissions
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#ownership" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      ownership
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#timestamps" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      timestamps
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								      </ul>
							 | 
						|
								    </nav>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#functions" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      Functions
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#workflows" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      Workflows
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <nav class="md-nav" aria-label="Workflows">
							 | 
						|
								      <ul class="md-nav__list">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#creating-a-file" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      Creating a file
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#reading-or-writing-to-a-file" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      Reading or writing to a file
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#copying-a-file" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      Copying a file
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#moving-a-file" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      Moving a file
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#summary" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      Summary
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								      </ul>
							 | 
						|
								    </nav>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								    </ul>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</nav>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item md-nav__item--nested">
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								        <input class="md-nav__toggle md-toggle " type="checkbox" id="__nav_6" >
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          
							 | 
						|
								          <label class="md-nav__link" for="__nav_6" id="__nav_6_label" tabindex="0">
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Config
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								            <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span>
							 | 
						|
								          </label>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								        <nav class="md-nav" data-md-level="1" aria-labelledby="__nav_6_label" aria-expanded="false">
							 | 
						|
								          <label class="md-nav__title" for="__nav_6">
							 | 
						|
								            <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span>
							 | 
						|
								            Config
							 | 
						|
								          </label>
							 | 
						|
								          <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix>
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/options/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Options
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/deprecated_options/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Deprecated Options
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/branches/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    branches
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/branches-mount-timeout/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    branches-mount-timeout
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/functions_categories_policies/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    functions, categories and policies
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/minfreespace/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    minfreespace
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/func_readdir/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    func.readdir
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/rename_and_link/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    rename and link
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/moveonenospc/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    moveonenospc
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/cache/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    caching
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/passthrough/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    passthrough
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/readahead/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    readahead
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/inodecalc/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    inodecalc
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/threads/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    threads
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/pin-threads/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    pin-threads
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/link_cow/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    link_cow
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/fuse_msg_size/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    fuse_msg_size
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/follow-symlinks/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    follow-symlinks
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/link-exdev/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    link-exdev
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/rename-exdev/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    rename-exdev
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/symlinkify/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    symlinkify
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/nullrw/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    nullrw
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/xattr/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    xattr
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/nfsopenhack/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    nfsopenhack
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/statfs/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    statfs / statvfs
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/flush-on-close/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    flush-on-close
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/export-support/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    export-support
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../config/kernel-permissions-check/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    kernel-permissions-check
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								          </ul>
							 | 
						|
								        </nav>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../error_handling_and_logging/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Error Handling and Logging
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../resource_usage/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Resource Usage and Management
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../runtime_interface/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Runtime Interface
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../remote_filesystems/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Remote Filesystems
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../tips_notes/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Tips and Notes
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../known_issues_bugs/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Known Issues and Bugs
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../project_comparisons/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Project Comparisons
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../benchmarking/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Benchmarking
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../performance/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Tweaking Performance
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../tooling/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Tooling
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../extended_usage_patterns/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Extended Usage Patterns
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item md-nav__item--nested">
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								        <input class="md-nav__toggle md-toggle " type="checkbox" id="__nav_18" >
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          
							 | 
						|
								          <label class="md-nav__link" for="__nav_18" id="__nav_18_label" tabindex="0">
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    FAQ
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								            <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span>
							 | 
						|
								          </label>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								        <nav class="md-nav" data-md-level="1" aria-labelledby="__nav_18_label" aria-expanded="false">
							 | 
						|
								          <label class="md-nav__title" for="__nav_18">
							 | 
						|
								            <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span>
							 | 
						|
								            FAQ
							 | 
						|
								          </label>
							 | 
						|
								          <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix>
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../faq/why_isnt_it_working/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    "Why isn't it working?"
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../faq/reliability_and_scalability/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Reliability and Scalability
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../faq/usage_and_functionality/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Usage and Functionality
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../faq/configuration_and_policies/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Configuration and Policies
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../faq/compatibility_and_integration/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Compatibility and Integration
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../faq/recommendations_and_warnings/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Recommendations and Warnings
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../faq/technical_behavior_and_limitations/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Technical Behavior and Limitations
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../faq/have_you_considered/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    "Have You Considered?"
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../faq/limit_drive_spinup/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Limiting drive spinup
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								          </ul>
							 | 
						|
								        </nav>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../related_projects/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Related Projects
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../media_and_publicity/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Media and Publicity
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../support/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Support
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								      <a href="../sponsorship_and_donations/" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								    Sponsorship and Donations
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </span>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								      </a>
							 | 
						|
								    </li>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </ul>
							 | 
						|
								</nav>
							 | 
						|
								                  </div>
							 | 
						|
								                </div>
							 | 
						|
								              </div>
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								              <div class="md-sidebar md-sidebar--secondary" data-md-component="sidebar" data-md-type="toc" >
							 | 
						|
								                <div class="md-sidebar__scrollwrap">
							 | 
						|
								                  <div class="md-sidebar__inner">
							 | 
						|
								                    
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								<nav class="md-nav md-nav--secondary" aria-label="Table of contents">
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <label class="md-nav__title" for="__toc">
							 | 
						|
								      <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span>
							 | 
						|
								      Table of contents
							 | 
						|
								    </label>
							 | 
						|
								    <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-component="toc" data-md-scrollfix>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#terminology" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      Terminology
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#files" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      Files
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <nav class="md-nav" aria-label="Files">
							 | 
						|
								      <ul class="md-nav__list">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#types" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      Types
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#inodes" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      inodes
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#links-names" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      links / names
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#permissions" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      permissions
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#ownership" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      ownership
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#timestamps" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      timestamps
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								      </ul>
							 | 
						|
								    </nav>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#functions" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      Functions
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#workflows" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      Workflows
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <nav class="md-nav" aria-label="Workflows">
							 | 
						|
								      <ul class="md-nav__list">
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#creating-a-file" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      Creating a file
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#reading-or-writing-to-a-file" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      Reading or writing to a file
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#copying-a-file" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      Copying a file
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#moving-a-file" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      Moving a file
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <li class="md-nav__item">
							 | 
						|
								  <a href="#summary" class="md-nav__link">
							 | 
						|
								    <span class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								      Summary
							 | 
						|
								    </span>
							 | 
						|
								  </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								      </ul>
							 | 
						|
								    </nav>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</li>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								    </ul>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</nav>
							 | 
						|
								                  </div>
							 | 
						|
								                </div>
							 | 
						|
								              </div>
							 | 
						|
								            
							 | 
						|
								          
							 | 
						|
								          
							 | 
						|
								            <div class="md-content" data-md-component="content">
							 | 
						|
								              <article class="md-content__inner md-typeset">
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								                  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    <a href="https://github.com/trapexit/mergerfs/edit/master/mkdocs/docs/intro_to_filesystems.md" title="Edit this page" class="md-content__button md-icon" rel="edit">
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M10 20H6V4h7v5h5v3.1l2-2V8l-6-6H6c-1.1 0-2 .9-2 2v16c0 1.1.9 2 2 2h4zm10.2-7c.1 0 .3.1.4.2l1.3 1.3c.2.2.2.6 0 .8l-1 1-2.1-2.1 1-1c.1-.1.2-.2.4-.2m0 3.9L14.1 23H12v-2.1l6.1-6.1z"/></svg>
							 | 
						|
								    </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    <a href="https://github.com/trapexit/mergerfs/raw/master/mkdocs/docs/intro_to_filesystems.md" title="View source of this page" class="md-content__button md-icon">
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M17 18c.56 0 1 .44 1 1s-.44 1-1 1-1-.44-1-1 .44-1 1-1m0-3c-2.73 0-5.06 1.66-6 4 .94 2.34 3.27 4 6 4s5.06-1.66 6-4c-.94-2.34-3.27-4-6-4m0 6.5a2.5 2.5 0 0 1-2.5-2.5 2.5 2.5 0 0 1 2.5-2.5 2.5 2.5 0 0 1 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 0 0 1-2.5 2.5M9.27 20H6V4h7v5h5v4.07c.7.08 1.36.25 2 .49V8l-6-6H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h4.5a8.2 8.2 0 0 1-1.23-2"/></svg>
							 | 
						|
								    </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								<h1 id="intro-to-filesystems">Intro to Filesystems</h1>
							 | 
						|
								<p><strong>!! WORK IN PROGRESS !!</strong></p>
							 | 
						|
								<p>mergerfs is a union filesystem that manages other filesystems. To
							 | 
						|
								understand how mergerfs works and what the features do and mean you
							 | 
						|
								must understand at least the basics of how filesystems work. Much of
							 | 
						|
								the confusion with mergerfs is based in a lack of knowledge about
							 | 
						|
								filesystems. This section of the documentation is provide a primer for
							 | 
						|
								those needing that knowledge.</p>
							 | 
						|
								<h2 id="terminology">Terminology</h2>
							 | 
						|
								<ul>
							 | 
						|
								<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_system">filesystem</a>: A method,
							 | 
						|
								  data structures, and API used to organize and store files on
							 | 
						|
								  computer storage devices. Often in a tree like structure / hierarchy.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_file">file</a>: A named
							 | 
						|
								  collection of data stored as a unique object. Filesystems can have
							 | 
						|
								  numerous file types and "file" can be used to reference any of those
							 | 
						|
								  types or a "regular" file.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>regular file: A file as commonly understood as a named collection of data.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directory_(computing)">directory</a>: A
							 | 
						|
								  container which holds files and, typically, other directories. In
							 | 
						|
								  Unix/Linux/POSIX filesystems a directory is technically also a file.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>root filesystem: The primary filesystem for which other filesystems
							 | 
						|
								  within a system are mounted.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_directory">root directory</a>: The
							 | 
						|
								  top-level directory in POSIX and POSIX-like filesystems. Denoted by
							 | 
						|
								  "/".</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Path_(computing)">path</a>: The location
							 | 
						|
								  of a file within a filesystem hierarchy.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inode">inode</a>: A unique integer
							 | 
						|
								  identifier for a file. Like a primary key. Also used to refer to the
							 | 
						|
								  underlying data structure which stores metadata about the file.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_link">link</a>: A reference to an
							 | 
						|
								  inode in the form of a name. An inode may have 0 to N links.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbolic_link">symlink</a>: A file type
							 | 
						|
								  which stores data that may, but is not required to, be a path to
							 | 
						|
								  another file.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>device id: A runtime, unique identification value assigned to a
							 | 
						|
								  filesystem.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_(computing)#MOUNT-POINT">mount
							 | 
						|
								  point</a>:
							 | 
						|
								  The directory where a filesystem is "mounted" or presented within a
							 | 
						|
								  directory hierarchy.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File-system_permissions">permissions</a>:
							 | 
						|
								  Access rights for files.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_identifier">owner</a>: System user
							 | 
						|
								  which has rights to a file.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_descriptor">file descriptor</a>: A
							 | 
						|
								  handle used by software, provided by the operating system, to
							 | 
						|
								  reference open files.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mmap">mmap</a>: A way to abstract access
							 | 
						|
								  to a file by making it appear as a region of memory.</li>
							 | 
						|
								</ul>
							 | 
						|
								<h2 id="files">Files</h2>
							 | 
						|
								<p>In POSIX filesystems there are several types of files. Interacting
							 | 
						|
								with them is often similar but they offer different capabilities.</p>
							 | 
						|
								<h3 id="types">Types</h3>
							 | 
						|
								<ul>
							 | 
						|
								<li>regular: The typical file type. An array of data which can be
							 | 
						|
								  randomly accessed.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>directory: A container which holds other files including other
							 | 
						|
								  directories allowing for a tree like layout.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>symlink: A special file which can store a limited amount of data,
							 | 
						|
								  typically a file path, which may be transparently interpreted by
							 | 
						|
								  some filesystem functions as a path. symlinks do <em>not</em> need to be a
							 | 
						|
								  valid path or a path at all. They can be used as a key/value like
							 | 
						|
								  storage mechanism for instance.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>character device: A special file typically representing some
							 | 
						|
								  physical or logical hardware device offering, typically, an
							 | 
						|
								  unbuffered byte stream based interface.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>block device: A special file which represents a physical or logical
							 | 
						|
								  hardware device (typically storage) allowing for buffered,
							 | 
						|
								  fixed-size blocks data transfers.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>fifo: Also referred to as a "named pipe." A FIFO, First In, First
							 | 
						|
								  Out, is a special file which acts as a non-persistent,
							 | 
						|
								  unidirectional conduit for data.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>unix domain socket: Also referred to as a "local socket" or "IPC
							 | 
						|
								  socket" a "UDS" works similar to a FIFO but bidirectional and
							 | 
						|
								  offering more features similar to TCP/IP or UDP/IP but local to the
							 | 
						|
								  system.</li>
							 | 
						|
								</ul>
							 | 
						|
								<h3 id="inodes">inodes</h3>
							 | 
						|
								<p>The inode in practical terms <strong>is</strong> the file within a POSIX
							 | 
						|
								filesystem. It is, typically, a unique identifier within a filesystem
							 | 
						|
								similar to a primary key, represented as a 32 or 64bit integer, which
							 | 
						|
								is what the typical user imagines as the file and its metadata
							 | 
						|
								(ownership, permissions, type, internal filesystem details, etc.).</p>
							 | 
						|
								<p>"typically unique" because some filesystems, such as FUSE based ones,
							 | 
						|
								may reuse an inode value for multiple logical files despite them being
							 | 
						|
								separate entities in the traditional sense. From the user's
							 | 
						|
								perspective multiple files may have the same inode but as mentioned
							 | 
						|
								above the inode is the true reference for a file and the "file" people
							 | 
						|
								interact with is really a link (see below.)</p>
							 | 
						|
								<h3 id="links-names">links / names</h3>
							 | 
						|
								<p>To make inodes more useful and accessible POSIX filesystems provide
							 | 
						|
								"links". A link (or sometimes referred to as "hardlink") is a file
							 | 
						|
								name which references an inode. A single inode can be referenced by
							 | 
						|
								multiple links (except for directories typically.) If the number of
							 | 
						|
								links to an inode reach zero, and no programs have the inode actively
							 | 
						|
								in use, the filesystem will logically remove the inode/file.</p>
							 | 
						|
								<p>When a regular file is first created think of it as the filesystem
							 | 
						|
								first creating the underlying structure, assigning an inode, then
							 | 
						|
								creating a link (name) for it in one shot. When a file is "link"ed to
							 | 
						|
								in the future a new "link" / "name" is being created and referencing
							 | 
						|
								the source file which will then cause the "nlink" value within the
							 | 
						|
								inode, which holds a reference count of the number of links/names that
							 | 
						|
								inode has, to be increased by 1. This is why deleting a file is
							 | 
						|
								referred to as an "unlink". Technically you are requesting the removal
							 | 
						|
								of the "link" and once all the links to a file are removed/unlinked,
							 | 
						|
								and the file is not in active use, the filesystem will then logically
							 | 
						|
								remove the file.</p>
							 | 
						|
								<p>Knowing the details above the API for POSIX filesystems is a little
							 | 
						|
								odd in that the programmer does not first create an inode then a
							 | 
						|
								link. Instead that is done together with no way to do the former alone
							 | 
						|
								despite being able to add additional links afterwards. Modern Linux
							 | 
						|
								filesystems do allow for this using the
							 | 
						|
								<a href="https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man2/openat.2.html">O_TMPFILE</a>
							 | 
						|
								flag. Since there is no link on creation should the program which
							 | 
						|
								created the file then release the handle on that file the filesystem
							 | 
						|
								would see it has no references and remove it. To keep the temporary
							 | 
						|
								file around the program must explicitly create a link.</p>
							 | 
						|
								<h3 id="permissions">permissions</h3>
							 | 
						|
								<p>File permissions are a security mechanism and apply to all files and
							 | 
						|
								directories. They, in combination with ownership information, dictate
							 | 
						|
								who is allowed to read, write, and execute a file (as well as some
							 | 
						|
								other niche allowances and behaviors.)</p>
							 | 
						|
								<p>While there are more advanced and complicated forms of permissioning
							 | 
						|
								the traditional POSIX permissions come in the form of 3 sets of 3
							 | 
						|
								permissions (the read, write, and execute.) One set for the individual
							 | 
						|
								user owner of the file, one for the group owner, and one for "others".</p>
							 | 
						|
								<p>Execute in POSIX systems indicates that a regular file is a piece of
							 | 
						|
								software and can be run (like a Windows ".exe" file) and for
							 | 
						|
								directories means you are allowed to list the contents. A directory
							 | 
						|
								can be marked as "read" and not "executable" to allow users to access
							 | 
						|
								content within the directory but not list it in a soft form of
							 | 
						|
								security through obscurity. You must know the path and name of the
							 | 
						|
								file to read it and can not simply search for it.</p>
							 | 
						|
								<h3 id="ownership">ownership</h3>
							 | 
						|
								<p>Each file has 2 owner values. The individual user identifier and the
							 | 
						|
								group identifier. These values are the raw integer value known to the
							 | 
						|
								kernel and not the human readable user name or group name most people
							 | 
						|
								typically use. In fact the kernel has no awareness of the human
							 | 
						|
								readable identifiers. Those are managed entirely by userspace. This is
							 | 
						|
								why if you mount a filesystem on a different system with different
							 | 
						|
								users tools like <code>ls</code> may report different user names or only show
							 | 
						|
								integer values for owners because the value stored in the inode is
							 | 
						|
								"1000" and the name associated with integer 1000 on system A is
							 | 
						|
								different from system B (or may not exist at all.)</p>
							 | 
						|
								<h3 id="timestamps">timestamps</h3>
							 | 
						|
								<ul>
							 | 
						|
								<li>mtime: The time the file <em>data</em> was last modified. Can be explicitly modified.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>ctime: The time the file <em>metadata</em> was last modified. Can not be modified.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>atime: The time the file was last accessed. Note that Linux
							 | 
						|
								  generally uses a heuristic to update atime so that it does not in
							 | 
						|
								  fact have to write to the filesystem every time a file is
							 | 
						|
								  accessed. Can be explicitly modified.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>btime: The "birth" time of the file. Only available in certain
							 | 
						|
								  filesystems and via a newer system call. Can not be modified.</li>
							 | 
						|
								</ul>
							 | 
						|
								<h2 id="functions">Functions</h2>
							 | 
						|
								<ul>
							 | 
						|
								<li>open():</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>creat():</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>close():</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>opendir():</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>readdir():</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>closedir():</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>mkdir():</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>link():</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>unlink():</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>symlink():</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>rename():</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>read():</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>write():</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>lseek():</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>tell():</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>stat():</li>
							 | 
						|
								</ul>
							 | 
						|
								<h2 id="workflows">Workflows</h2>
							 | 
						|
								<p>Filesystems tend to be
							 | 
						|
								<a href="../faq/technical_behavior_and_limitations/#how-does-mergerfs-handle-moving-and-copying-of-files">misunderstood</a>. A
							 | 
						|
								number of behaviors users are familiar with are actually high level
							 | 
						|
								concepts which are made up of numerous steps/functions. As a result
							 | 
						|
								high level context that users expect to be available to mergerfs when
							 | 
						|
								certain actions are taken and decisions made are in fact not
							 | 
						|
								available. Below are explanations of a number of those situations.</p>
							 | 
						|
								<h3 id="creating-a-file">Creating a file</h3>
							 | 
						|
								<p><a href="https://www.man7.org/linux/man-pages/man3/creat.3p.html">Creating</a> a
							 | 
						|
								file can range from a single call to a semi-complex procedure
							 | 
						|
								depending on the requirements and expectations of the calling
							 | 
						|
								application.</p>
							 | 
						|
								<p>Most important to understand is that when a file is created there is
							 | 
						|
								very limited information needed / provided. The file path, some flags
							 | 
						|
								to control a bit how the file is created and if it is to be for
							 | 
						|
								reading and/or writing, and the permissions. mergerfs knows a bit more
							 | 
						|
								details like which user id is making the request and from what process
							 | 
						|
								but that is all the data immediately available. There is no size. The
							 | 
						|
								initial size is always zero. Any data that may be written to the file
							 | 
						|
								would come in the future via other function calls. The source of that
							 | 
						|
								data is completely unknown.</p>
							 | 
						|
								<p>Keep in mind that while there exists this ability to create a file in
							 | 
						|
								a single call to the operating system that call has numerous
							 | 
						|
								aspects which my be exploitable by malicious software.</p>
							 | 
						|
								<p>If software wishes to create a file in more secure manner it must do
							 | 
						|
								some form of the following.</p>
							 | 
						|
								<ol>
							 | 
						|
								<li>Attempt to open the directory where you wish to create the file.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>If that succeeds check the directory to ensure it is the directory
							 | 
						|
								you expect it to be. Checking ownership, permissions, perhaps
							 | 
						|
								existence of other files, the filesystem, etc.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>Using the handle to the directory, attempt to open the file using a
							 | 
						|
								flag which make the open fail should a file name/link already exist
							 | 
						|
								with that same name. Also set the permissions to the absolute minimum
							 | 
						|
								possible to ensure no interference from others.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>If it succeeds then continue on with whatever you had planned. If
							 | 
						|
								it fails try to unlink the unexpected file and try again at step 3. If
							 | 
						|
								it fails multiple times then something is suspicious and the program
							 | 
						|
								should stop trying to create the file and report an error.</li>
							 | 
						|
								</ol>
							 | 
						|
								<p>The above can be made even more involved as you will see below.</p>
							 | 
						|
								<h3 id="reading-or-writing-to-a-file">Reading or writing to a file</h3>
							 | 
						|
								<p>To write:</p>
							 | 
						|
								<ol>
							 | 
						|
								<li>Assuming the file is already created/opened...</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>Allocate memory to hold a portion of the data.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>Fill the memory with the data to write from wherever it may come
							 | 
						|
								   from. Another file, network, programmatically generated, etc.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>Call <code>write()</code> function on the open file pointing to the memory to
							 | 
						|
								   write and how much to write.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>The kernel will take the request and attempt it. On success it will
							 | 
						|
								   report back to the program how much was written from 1 byte to the
							 | 
						|
								   amount requested. A write of fewer than the requested amount is
							 | 
						|
								   called a <code>short write.</code></li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>If a short write occurred the program must then adjust the data to
							 | 
						|
								   ensure it doesn't write the same data again and lower the amount to
							 | 
						|
								   write by the previously written amount and attempt another
							 | 
						|
								   write. Continuing this till there is nothing left to write. A short
							 | 
						|
								   write could also mean that the filesystem has no more available
							 | 
						|
								   space and following write requests may fail completely.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>Go back to step 2 or 3 and do it all again with any additional data
							 | 
						|
								   to write.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>If at any time there is an error it may be necessary to query the
							 | 
						|
								   size of the file or other details to know how to continue depending
							 | 
						|
								   on the needs of the program.</li>
							 | 
						|
								</ol>
							 | 
						|
								<p>Reading is similar and <code>short reads</code> are also possible.</p>
							 | 
						|
								<h3 id="copying-a-file">Copying a file</h3>
							 | 
						|
								<p>The "proper" way to copy a file is quite involved.</p>
							 | 
						|
								<ol>
							 | 
						|
								<li>Open the source file. Do so with certain flags to ensure it is the
							 | 
						|
								   type of file you expect. You may also need to perform a similar
							 | 
						|
								   "open directory, check things out, then open file" workflow as
							 | 
						|
								   mentioned above for security purposes.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li><code>stat</code> the file to get its metadata such as the file size,
							 | 
						|
								   timestamps, etc.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>Securely open a file as described previously. The name of the file
							 | 
						|
								   should not be that of the destination but a temporary file name
							 | 
						|
								   with some amount of randomness. Often also making it "hidden" by
							 | 
						|
								   prepending a "." to it.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>In a loop read data from the source file and write it to the
							 | 
						|
								   temporary file as described above. There are some platform specific
							 | 
						|
								   ways to copy the data which may be tried first such as
							 | 
						|
								   FICLONE/reflink which takes advantage of CoW (copy-on-write)
							 | 
						|
								   filesystem features. Falling back to the read then write loop if
							 | 
						|
								   necessary.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>Request a list of all the extended attribute keys from the source
							 | 
						|
								   file and one by one query the value. For each key value pair
							 | 
						|
								   attempt to write it to the destination file.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>Request file attributes from the source file and write them to the
							 | 
						|
								   destination file but first filtering out flags such as "immutable"
							 | 
						|
								   as that would make it impossible to make further changes.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>Using the details captured in step 2 change the ownership to the
							 | 
						|
								   destination file to match the source.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>Using the details captured in step 2 change the permissions (mode)
							 | 
						|
								   of the destination file to match the source.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>Using the details captured in step 2 change the mtime and atime of
							 | 
						|
								   the destination to match the source.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>Query the source file's metadata again as in step 2. Using those
							 | 
						|
								   details as well as those from step 2 check the source file to see
							 | 
						|
								   if it may have changed since the copy procedure started. If it had
							 | 
						|
								   determine the changes and go back to step 4. Perhaps unlinking the
							 | 
						|
								   temporary file and going back to step 2.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>Ensure the data and metadata are flushed to the storage device by
							 | 
						|
								   calling appropriate sync functions.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li><code>rename</code> the file from the temporary name to the destination name.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>If the file had a special flag such as the immutable attribute set
							 | 
						|
								    then set such attribute.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>Close the destination and source files.</li>
							 | 
						|
								</ol>
							 | 
						|
								<p>There can be additional steps too depending on the platform, available
							 | 
						|
								features, and safety concerns. For instance it might be possible to
							 | 
						|
								put a lock or lease on the source file to limit possibility of
							 | 
						|
								changes while the copy occurs.</p>
							 | 
						|
								<h3 id="moving-a-file">Moving a file</h3>
							 | 
						|
								<p>The moving of a file is similar to copying a file.</p>
							 | 
						|
								<ol>
							 | 
						|
								<li>Attempt a <code>rename</code> between source and destination. If it succeeds,
							 | 
						|
								   done. Note that the rename itself may require setup similar to
							 | 
						|
								   securely opening or creating a file. IE... requiring the opening of
							 | 
						|
								   the source and destination directories, confirming they are what is
							 | 
						|
								   expected, then issuing the actual rename.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>If it fails... perform a copy of the file as described above.</li>
							 | 
						|
								<li>After the rename and close'ing of the copy <code>unlink</code> the source
							 | 
						|
								   file.</li>
							 | 
						|
								</ol>
							 | 
						|
								<h3 id="summary">Summary</h3>
							 | 
						|
								<p>As seen in the above descriptions these high level concepts users
							 | 
						|
								perceive are in fact involved sets of steps with loops and conditional
							 | 
						|
								behaviors. All leveraging low level functions which alone have very
							 | 
						|
								little context. For instance: there is no practical way of knowing a
							 | 
						|
								file is being copied or from where. There is no way to decide at
							 | 
						|
								creation time what to do based on size because its size doesn't exist
							 | 
						|
								yet. Even making a decision based on the destination file name is
							 | 
						|
								complicated by the fact that "well written" software will create
							 | 
						|
								randomly named temporary files and then rename the file. Only at
							 | 
						|
								<code>rename</code> would you know the name as the end user chose and at that
							 | 
						|
								point it may be too late.</p>
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								
							 | 
						|
								                
							 | 
						|
								              </article>
							 | 
						|
								            </div>
							 | 
						|
								          
							 | 
						|
								          
							 | 
						|
								<script>var target=document.getElementById(location.hash.slice(1));target&&target.name&&(target.checked=target.name.startsWith("__tabbed_"))</script>
							 | 
						|
								        </div>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          <button type="button" class="md-top md-icon" data-md-component="top" hidden>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M13 20h-2V8l-5.5 5.5-1.42-1.42L12 4.16l7.92 7.92-1.42 1.42L13 8z"/></svg>
							 | 
						|
								  Back to top
							 | 
						|
								</button>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								      </main>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								        <footer class="md-footer">
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      <nav class="md-footer__inner md-grid" aria-label="Footer" >
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          
							 | 
						|
								          <a href="../terminology/" class="md-footer__link md-footer__link--prev" aria-label="Previous: Terminology">
							 | 
						|
								            <div class="md-footer__button md-icon">
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								              <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M20 11v2H8l5.5 5.5-1.42 1.42L4.16 12l7.92-7.92L13.5 5.5 8 11z"/></svg>
							 | 
						|
								            </div>
							 | 
						|
								            <div class="md-footer__title">
							 | 
						|
								              <span class="md-footer__direction">
							 | 
						|
								                Previous
							 | 
						|
								              </span>
							 | 
						|
								              <div class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								                Terminology
							 | 
						|
								              </div>
							 | 
						|
								            </div>
							 | 
						|
								          </a>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								          
							 | 
						|
								          <a href="../config/options/" class="md-footer__link md-footer__link--next" aria-label="Next: Options">
							 | 
						|
								            <div class="md-footer__title">
							 | 
						|
								              <span class="md-footer__direction">
							 | 
						|
								                Next
							 | 
						|
								              </span>
							 | 
						|
								              <div class="md-ellipsis">
							 | 
						|
								                Options
							 | 
						|
								              </div>
							 | 
						|
								            </div>
							 | 
						|
								            <div class="md-footer__button md-icon">
							 | 
						|
								              
							 | 
						|
								              <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M4 11v2h12l-5.5 5.5 1.42 1.42L19.84 12l-7.92-7.92L10.5 5.5 16 11z"/></svg>
							 | 
						|
								            </div>
							 | 
						|
								          </a>
							 | 
						|
								        
							 | 
						|
								      </nav>
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  <div class="md-footer-meta md-typeset">
							 | 
						|
								    <div class="md-footer-meta__inner md-grid">
							 | 
						|
								      <div class="md-copyright">
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								    Made with
							 | 
						|
								    <a href="https://squidfunk.github.io/mkdocs-material/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
							 | 
						|
								      Material for MkDocs
							 | 
						|
								    </a>
							 | 
						|
								  
							 | 
						|
								</div>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								    </div>
							 | 
						|
								  </div>
							 | 
						|
								</footer>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								    </div>
							 | 
						|
								    <div class="md-dialog" data-md-component="dialog">
							 | 
						|
								      <div class="md-dialog__inner md-typeset"></div>
							 | 
						|
								    </div>
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								      <script id="__config" type="application/json">{"base": "..", "features": ["content.action.edit", "content.action.view", "content.code.copy", "content.code.select", "navigation.footer", "navigation.instant", "navigation.instant.prefetch", "navigation.path", "navigation.top", "navigation.tracking", "optimize", "search.share", "search.suggest", "toc.follow"], "search": "../assets/javascripts/workers/search.973d3a69.min.js", "tags": null, "translations": {"clipboard.copied": "Copied to clipboard", "clipboard.copy": "Copy to clipboard", "search.result.more.one": "1 more on this page", "search.result.more.other": "# more on this page", "search.result.none": "No matching documents", "search.result.one": "1 matching document", "search.result.other": "# matching documents", "search.result.placeholder": "Type to start searching", "search.result.term.missing": "Missing", "select.version": "Select version"}, "version": {"provider": "mike"}}</script>
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								      <script src="../assets/javascripts/bundle.f55a23d4.min.js"></script>
							 | 
						|
								      
							 | 
						|
								    
							 | 
						|
								  </body>
							 | 
						|
								</html>
							 |