/.journal ext3 on a flash

[Daniel Pittman]

On 8 Jul 2004, Norberto Mech wrote:
> I'm formatting a flash with ext3, but I need to move the journaling file
> (/.journal) in the flash to prevent it's corruption.
>
> In previous message I read that it's possible 
> (https://www.redhat.com/archives/ext3-users/2004-March/msg00009.html), but I
> can't find any /.journal in my ext3 fs.

The journal lives as inode 8, and is usually not linked to any directory
entry anywhere. The '.journal' file is a relic of the past, pretty much,
with ext3 these days. Running e2fsck on an unmounted ext3 filesystem
will hide the journal, removing that entry, as well.

> How can move the journaling file in the flash without /.journal file??

You would need something to move around the blocks associated with
inode 8, without needing to touch the filename.

To achieve this, I would suggest that you implement an interface to
"relocate" a block in an ext3 filesystem; that interface could then
achieve your goal (with careful locking) as well as implementing online
defragmentation and, potentially, other valuable filesystem operations.

Achieving this, safely, is left as an exercise for the student. ;)

          Daniel
-- 
If a joke is worth telling, it's worth telling once.
        -- Ollie MacNoonan