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MKE2FS
!!!MKE2FS
NAME
SYNOPSIS
DESCRIPTION
OPTIONS
AUTHOR
BUGS
AVAILABILITY
SEE ALSO
----
!!NAME


mke2fs - create a Linux second extended file system
!!SYNOPSIS


__mke2fs__ [[ __-c__ | __-l__ ''filename'' ] [[
__-b__ ''block-size'' ] [[ __-f__
''fragment-size'' ] [[ __-i__ ''bytes-per-inode'' ]
[[ __-j__ ] [[ __-J__ ''journal-options'' ] [[
__-N__ ''number-of-inodes'' ] [[ __-n__ ] [[
__-m__ ''reserved-blocks-percentage'' ] [[ __-o__
''creator-os'' ] [[ __-O__ ''feature''[[,...] ] [[
__-q__ ] [[ __-r__ ''fs-revision-level'' ] [[
__-R__ ''raid-options'' ] [[ __-v__ ] [[ __-F__ ]
[[ __-L__ ''volume-label'' ] [[ __-M__
''last-mounted-directory'' ] [[ __-S__ ] [[ __-T__
''filesystem-type'' ] [[ __-V__ ] ''device'' [[
''blocks-count'' ]


__mke2fs -O journal_dev__ [[ __-b__ ''block-size'' ]
[[ __-L__ ''volume-label'' ] [[ __-n__ ] [[ __-q__
] [[ __-v__ ] ''external-journal'' [[
''blocks-count'' ]
!!DESCRIPTION


__mke2fs__ is used to create a Linux second extended file
system on a device (usually a disk partition). ''device''
is the special file corresponding to the device (e.g
''/dev/hdXX''). ''blocks-count'' is the number of
blocks on the device. If omitted, __mke2fs__
automagically figures the file system size. If called as
__mkfs.ext3__ a journal is created as if the __-j__
option was specified.
!!OPTIONS


__-b__ ''block-size''


Specify the size of blocks in bytes. Valid block size vales
are 1024, 2048 and 4096 bytes per block. If omitted,
__mke2fs__ block-size is determined by the file system
size and the expected usage of the filesystem (see the
__-T__ option).


__-c__


Check the device for bad blocks before creating the file
system. If this option is specified twice, then a slower,
destructive, read-write test is used instead of a fast
read-only test.


__-f__ ''fragment-size''


Specify the size of fragments in bytes.


__-F__


Force __mke2fs__ to run, even if the specified device is
not a block special device, or appears to be
mounted.


__-i__ ''bytes-per-inode''


Specify the bytes/inode ratio. __mke2fs__ creates an
inode for every ''bytes-per-inode'' bytes of space on the
disk. The larger the ''bytes-per-inode'' ratio, the fewer
inodes will be created. This value generally shouldn't be
smaller than the blocksize of the filesystem, since then too
many inodes will be made. Be warned that is not possible to
expand the number of inodes on a filesystem after it is
created, so be careful deciding the correct value for this
parameter.


__-j__


Create the filesystem with an ext3 journal. If the __-J__
option is not specified, the default journal parameters will
be used to create an appropriately sized journal (given the
size of the filesystem) stored within the filesystem. Note
that you must be using a kernel which has ext3 support in
order to actually make use of the journal.


__-J__ ''journal-options''


Create the ext3 journal using options specified on the
command-line. Journal options are comma separated, and may
take an argument using the equals ('=') sign. The following
journal options are supported:


__size=__''journal-size''


Create a journal stored in the filesystem of size
''journal-size'' megabytes. The size of the journal must
be at least 1024 filesystem blocks (i.e., 1MB if using 1k
blocks, 4MB if using 4k blocks, etc.) and may be no more
than 102,400 filesystem blocks. The journal must fit within
the newly created filesystem.


__device=__''external-journal''


Attach the filesystem to the journal block device located on
''external-journal''. The external journal must already
have been created using the command


__mke2fs -O journal_dev__
''external-journal''


Note that ''external-journal'' must have been created
with the same block size as the new filesystem.


Instead of specifying a device name directly,
''external-journal'' can also be specified by either
__LABEL=__''label'' or __UUID=__''UUID'' to
locate the external journal by either the volume label or
UUID stored in the ext2 superblock at the start of the
journal. Use dumpe2fs(8) to display a journal
device's volume label and UUID. See also the __-L__
option of tune2fs(8).


Only one of the __size__ or __device__ options can be
given for a filesystem.


__-l__ ''filename''


Read the bad blocks list from ''filename''. Note that the
block numbers in the bad block list must be generated using
the same block size as used by mke2fs. As a result, the
__-c__ option to __mke2fs__ is a much simpler and less
error-prone method of checking a disk for bad blocks before
formatting it, as __mke2fs__ will automatically pass the
correct parameters to the __badblocks__
program.


__-L__


Set the volume label for the filesystem.


__-m__ ''reserved-blocks-percentage''


Specify the percentage of the filesystem blocks reserved for
the super-user. This value defaults to 5%.


__-M__


Set the last mounted directory for the filesystem. This
might be useful for the sake of utilities that key off of
the last mounted directory to determine where the filesytem
should be mounted.


__-n__


causes mke2fs to not actually create a filesystem, but
display what it would do if it were to create a
filesystem.


__-N__ ''number-of-inodes''


overrides the default calculation of the number of inodes
that should be reserved for the filesystem (which is based
on the number of blocks and the ''bytes-per-inode''
ratio). This allows the user to specify the number of
desired inodes directly.


__-o__ ''creator-os''


Manually override the default value of the
mke2fs__
executable.


__-O__ ''feature''[[,...]


Create filesystem with given features (filesystem options).
Currently, the __sparse_super__ and __filetype__
features are turned on by default unless __mke2fs__ is
run on a system with a pre-2.2 Linux kernel. Filesystems
that may need to mounted on pre-2.2 kernels should be
created with __-O none__ (or __-r 0__ for 1.2 kernels)
which will disable these features, even if __mke2fs__ is
run on a system which can support them.


The following filesystem options are supported:


__sparse_super__


Create a filesystem with fewer superblock backup copies
(saves space on large filesystems).


__filetype__


Store file type information in directory
entries.


__has_journal__


Create an ext3 journal (as if using the __-j__
option).


__journal_dev__


Create an external ext3 journal on the given device instead
of a regular ext2 filesystem. Note that
''external-journal'' must be created with the same block
size as the filesystems that will be using it.


__-q__


Quiet execution. Useful if __mke2fs__ is run in a
script.


__-r__ ''revision''


Set the filesystem revision for the new filesystem. Note
that 1.2 kernels only support revision 0 filesystems. The
default is to create revision 1 filesystems.


__-R__ ''raid-options''


Set raid-related options for the filesystem. Raid options
are comma separated, and may take an argument using the
equals ('=') sign. The following options are
supported:


__stride=__''stripe-size''


Configure the filesystem for a RAID array with
''stripe-size'' filesystem blocks per
stripe.


__-S__


Write superblock and group descriptors only. This is useful
if all of the superblock and backup superblocks are
corrupted, and a last-ditch recovery method is desired. It
causes __mke2fs__ to reinitialize the superblock and
group descriptors, while not touching the inode table and
the block and inode bitmaps. The __e2fsck__ program
should be run immediately after this option is used, and
there is no guarantee that any data will be salvageable. It
is critical to specify the correct filesystem blocksize when
using this option, or there is no chance of
recovery.


__-T__ ''fs-type''


Specify how the filesystem is going to be used, so that
mke2fs can chose optimal filesystem parameters for that use.
The supported filesystem types are:


news


one inode per 4kb block


largefile


one inode per megabyte


largefile4


one inode per 4 megabytes


__-v__


Verbose execution.


__-V__


Print the version number of __mke2fs__ and
exit.
!!AUTHOR


This version of __mke2fs__ has been written by Theodore
Ts'o __
!!BUGS


__mke2fs__ accepts the __-f__ option but currently
ignores it because the second extended file system does not
support fragments yet.
There may be other ones. Please, report them to the
author.
!!AVAILABILITY


__mke2fs__ is part of the e2fsprogs package and is
available from
http://e2fsprogs.sourceforge.net.
!!SEE ALSO


badblocks(8), dumpe2fs(8), __e2fsck__(8),
tune2fs(8)
----
11 pages link to mke2fs(8):
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Last edited on Tuesday, June 4, 2002 12:31:15 am by "perry"
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