Re: sysinst(8), `Installing from an unmounted filesystem'

[Don NetBSD <netbsd-embedded%gmx.com@localhost>]

On 10/11/2018 7:26 PM, Robert Elz wrote:
>    | For me, I address that with additional *drives* -- typically external.
>
> Different problem/issue.   I don't care much about space any more, drives
> have oddles of it, and it has become cheap (whatever connection method).
> What matters is mount attributes,. filesystem config (block sizes, etc) - those
> are typically not all the same (pkgsrc has lots of little files, so does better
> woth small block/frag sizes 0 they're not written all that often, whereas other
> srcs usually have bigger fiels, and perform better with slightly bigger blocks,
> and distfiles tend to be hugs, so work best with big blocks (and usually no
> frags at all).   For mount options, some want to be read only, some log, and
> /usr/obj is typically async (if the system crashes,it can just ne newfs'd if it
> gets mangled)

"Space is cheap".  And, modern hardware -- even older hardware -- is still
faster than my meatware.  So, no real need to try to eek out extra performance.
There's always something ELSE that can be done while waiting for a "make world"
to complete -- updating build notes, formal documentation, tweeking some other
sources, laying out a PCB, etc.  When the "make" finishes, it can sit there and
wait for *me* to get around to checking up on it!  (computers are much more
patient than people)

So, it's not worth my time trying to optimize a filesystem for a particular
use (space/speed).  I have (literally) hundreds of 500GB+ drives.  Keeping
track of where they are physically stored is the most pressing practical
issue (I already track their individual contents with a RDBMS but that doesn't
help me find "disk #74")

For me, the issue is one of consistency -- making sure I can access a medium
on different systems, etc.  (e.g., no ZFS, RAID, etc. or other FS that might
not be supported in every kernel)