linux-kernel - Re: Linux 2.6.29

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Message-ID: <alpine.LFD.2.00.0903311452590.6474@localhost.localdomain>
Date:	Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:55:45 -0700 (PDT)
From:	Linus Torvalds <torvalds@...ux-foundation.org>
To:	Alan Cox <alan@...rguk.ukuu.org.uk>
cc:	Ric Wheeler <rwheeler@...hat.com>,
	"Andreas T.Auer" <andreas.t.auer_lkml_73537@...us.ath.cx>,
	Theodore Tso <tytso@....edu>, Mark Lord <lkml@....ca>,
	Stefan Richter <stefanr@...6.in-berlin.de>,
	Jeff Garzik <jeff@...zik.org>,
	Matthew Garrett <mjg59@...f.ucam.org>,
	Andrew Morton <akpm@...ux-foundation.org>,
	David Rees <drees76@...il.com>, Jesper Krogh <jesper@...gh.cc>,
	Linux Kernel Mailing List <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: Linux 2.6.29

On Tue, 31 Mar 2009, Alan Cox wrote:
> 
> How about the far more regular crash case ? We may be pretty reliable but
> we are hardly indestructible especially on random boxes with funky BIOSes
> or low grade hardware builds.

The regular crash case doesn't need to care about the disk write-cache AT 
ALL. The disk will finish the writes on its own long after the kernel 
crashed.

That was my _point_. The write cache on the disk is generally a whole lot 
safer than the OS data cache. If there's a catastrophic software failure 
(outside of the disk firmware itself ;), then the OS data cache is gone. 
But the disk write cache will be written back.

Of course, if you have an automatic and immediate "power-off-on-oops", 
you're screwed, but if so, you have bigger problems anyway. You need to 
wait at _least_ a second or two before you power off.

		Linus
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