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edomaur
Asked: 2010-04-17 01:07:41 +0800 CST

Can I use ext3 as a shared fs if I add a lock manager?

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I need a cluster filesystem for an iSCSI device. The problem is that the servers to which it is connected generate datafiles which must be read by every other servers. Except for the writing and deleting of such files, I do not need a full locking scheme like in OCFS2 or GFS2.

So, can I use a distributed lock manager (DLM) on top of an ext3 filesystem or must I use only specialized filesystem ?

ext3 cluster gfs2

2 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    NO. The main reason is that the filesystem cache is not cluster aware and is not coherent, so you end up mangling your data.

    Try mounting the ext3 FS in two boxes, create a file in one box and see if it appears in the other...

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  2. A filesystem must be cluster aware, meaning that it has to know to look for the lock manager (or the nodes need to know to look at the quorum disk). You can't just strap on an DLM and have it work. That would be neat, though. Sorry!

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