MINFREE on filesystems

[Kevin Lamb]

Hi,

Just a quick question regarding minfree on filesystems.

Is it recomended to adjust the percentage of minfree on a filesystem to "make something fit" and what are the potential pitfall of doing this???

Kev

[Rainer von Bongartz · Accepted solution]

Kevin,

I have set minfree=0 for all filesystems containing only user and application files.

I might make sense to keep minfree=5 for system filesystems (/opt /var etc.)

Regards
rainer

[Frank Slootweg]

minfree is only relevant for HFS filesystem, not vxfs/JFS.

If the filesystem is rather static *and* files are created 'sequentially'/'neatly', i.e. the layout is 'neat', then setting minfree low or even to 0 is not a problem.

If the filesystem is rather dynamic or/and fragmented, then setting a low minfree can make fragmentation even worse and hence performance very bad.

[Kevin Lamb]

Rainer/Frank,

Thamks for your input, I was rather unsure about messing with the minfree variable, your comments have set my mind at rest.

Thanx, have a great Xmas and a prosperous New Year.

Kev