[arch-general] 2 recommendations needed for installing Arch Linux

[Ray Rashif]

On 6 December 2011 21:08, Ralf Mardorf <ralf.mardorf at alice-dsl.net> wrote:

> Hi :)
>
> I'm new to the list.
>
> I already received some hints from another Arch Linux mailing list.
>

Welcome to Arch Linux :)


>  Sorry that my mail is formatted in HTML. When I tied to restore the
> distro I used before from a backup for the billionth time, I made a mistake
> and accidentally deleted originals and backups from ext4 partitions.
> Currently I'm even unable to boot any from my other Linux installs, so I'm
> using a Parted Magic live CD, resp. the web mailing thingy from my provider.
>

When I tell some people that I use plain text, I am made aware that it's
already 2011 :D


> I'll switch to Arch Linux because for my needs, audio productions, it
> could be easier to keep it stable than it is for other distros.
>

Here I'll give you just one page to read:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Pro_Audio


>  I've got two questions.
>
> 1. What is a safe FS, that can be recovered? Ext4 seemingly isn't such a
> FS. The FS also should be usable for audio productions. Security regarding
> to multiple user usage, web access, server usage etc. are unimportant for a
> DAW.
>

There are 3 things you're probably thinking or recalling. In the early days
of ext4 there were some issues with data _loss_. That is not to be confused
with intentional data _removal_. Either way, those early days are long
gone, and I can't remember the last time I had actually lost data. In fact,
this system has gone through harsh treatments including forced halts during
intensive disk operations. Potent disaster, but I have not lost anything.

The other issue is with regards to data _recovery_. Ext4 is by design a tad
bit different from ext3, and any data recovery tool which can work with
ext2/3 needs some additional work to support ext4 [1]. TestDisk can help
with NTFS, FAT and ext2 for quick recovery of files for which metadata
still exists, but not so with ext3 or ext4. For that, you'd need to "carve
out" data. PhotoRec will get you the most relevant files, but you can take
a look at Foremost if you want to recover even older ones. At the end of
the day, however, as Thomas has mentioned, you can only hope.

The last and probably least of your concerns is (or should be) whether the
FS is suitable for audio production. Ext-based filesystems have the lowest
latency, aside from JFS which beats them all. However, there is no
empirical data to prove that this disk-level latency has any adverse
effects on realtime audio/video in reality. You should purchase a fast HDD
if disk latency is a concern at all. Better yet, get an SSD so you
eliminate seek time entirely (best for sampling).


> 2. For my main Linux I always prefer to use 64-bit architecture, but
> 32-bit architecture compatibility is needed. Is there something I should
> take care about when installing Arch Linux?
>
> Cheers!
>
> Ralf
>

[1]
http://computer-forensics.sans.org/blog/2010/12/20/digital-forensics-understanding-ext4-part-1-extents

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