hardware question: Sony DVD with linux

[Chris Kloiber]

On Wed, 2003-09-17 at 11:34, Tom Syroid wrote:
> Chris,
> 
> I know this is a bit off-topic for this list, but...
> 
> I recently purchased an HP dvd300i DVD+RW. I'm still learning and trying to 
> get my head around the mechanics of writing to DVD's.
> 
> 1. Is there a way (currently available) to write to a DVD as if it were a 
> just another file system (eg, a HD)? I know this involves UDF, but beyond 
> this, I'm lost.

Not a good idea with ext2/ext3 at least. Most of the nitty gritty
details are here: http://fy.chalmers.se/~appro/linux/DVD+RW/

A (not so brief) excerpt:

        
        Even though kernel now permits to build and mount arbitrary file
        system, there is one thing you must keep in mind before you just
        proceed, no matter how tempting it might appear.
        
        As you might know DVD+RW media can sustain only around 1000
        overwrites. The thing about fully fledged file systems is that
        every read [or tight bunch of 'em] is accompanied by
        corresponding i-node update or in other words a write! Now,
        let's say you lookup the mount point (e.g. ls /mnt/dvd) ten
        times a day. This gives you a 100 days lifetime on your
        mountpoint and therefore media. Not really much, huh? So do use
        noatime mount option with DVD+RW media or have it mounted
        read-only most of the time. However! Every read-write mount
        "costs" a super-block update. So that if you remount the media
        say 3 times a day, it would last for about a year [supermount
        would exhaust the "budget" way sooner]... Defect management [in
        firmware, a.k.a. Mt.Rainier, or at file system level] would
        improve the situation, but ideally file system driver should
        definitely refrain from modifying the super-block [marking it
        dirty] if nothing was actually written since last mount. Given
        the development status of Linux UDF the chances for seeing the
        latter implemented [for UDF] are more than just conceivable. The
        request is already filed and even possible solution is being
        discussed. But why not give UDF a shot already then? By default
        UDF write support is unfortunately disabled and you might have
        to reconfigure the kernel and rebuild modules.

> 2. Is there some good documentation out there on using growisofs? I've look 
> at a couple pieces, both more confusing than clarifying.

The web site I quoted above is the home of growisofs and friends.


-- 
Chris Kloiber
Red Hat, Inc.