Btrfs - 0.17

A new version of the Btrfs file system has been released - 0.17 .

Six months after the last release, a new version of the Btrfs file system was released - 0.17, on which the code included in the future Linux kernel 2.6.29 will be based. The importance of version 0.17 is to fix the disk format, which will no longer change, except when it comes to finding critical errors. The final stable release of Btrfs 1.0 will be released during 2009, although initially it was expected at the end of 2008.
From the innovations of Btrfs 0.17 it can be noted:
1. Support for transparent data compression (mount -o compress);
2. Improving data block allocation mechanisms;
3. The ability to link created Btrfs partitions with previously existing (device seed), while the previously existing partition is used as a framework that functions in read-only mode, and changes within the directory tree are saved in the new section;
4. Improved block sharing at the time extents are transferred. For example, the new version handles the situation of simultaneous use of blocks in different snapshots, while writing to the COW (Copy On Write) log;
5. Bug fixes and performance optimization.