Disabling atime

[Les Mikesell]

Benjamin Lewis wrote:
> 
> Les Mikesell wrote:
>> I'd expect the RedHat-style approach to this to be: add some file
>> under /etc/sysconfig like mount-options that contains options that can
>> be merged with the ones in /etc/fstab and all of the magic
>> automounting bits (this is probably as important on usb flash drives
>> as anywhere).
>>
>> [snip]
>>
> There is something which leap out at me as soon a I saw this: the kind
> of person who _needs_ atime, knows how to set it.

Yes, just like the kind of person who _needs_ networking knows how to 
issue ifconfig commands directly to set it up.  That doesn't mean that a 
general purpose way to set it up with the most likely default and a GUI 
to change it is not an improvement.

> The majority of people
> - especially the home use - has little or no use for it whatsoever. Its
> a bit like the way mount fails on a broken fstab, it assumes that if you
> are messing with the fstab you know what you are doing. Equally anyone
> who _needs_ atime knows what they are doing and how to enable it.

Except that they may have applications currently in use that rely on the 
decades old, documented behavior and should not have these broken as a 
surprise.  Let one release go where you encourage people to break these 
with their own choice and report it, then you'll know what to expect 
when you break it with the default.

> Any sort of fancy /etc/sysconfig trick is more effort than is needed,
> when the only change needed to undo it is to remove an option from the
> fstab.

atime is not the only mount option that people need to change and a 
one-off hack for every little thing is not as nice as a general purpose 
solution that exactly matches the approach of the gazillion other things 
under /etc/sysconfig, put there for the same purpose.

> Just because something was always that way doesn't mean it needs to stay
> that way - and whatever the numbers, noatime *does* improve performance.

Agreed, but RedHat-style administration puts changes like this under 
user control with files under /etc/sysconfig and sometimes provides a 
GUI tool to modify it.  People who don't want this level/style of 
control are probably using some other OS.

-- 
   Les Mikesell
    lesmikesell at gmail.com