Subject: Re: dev_t changes & partitions
To: Bill Studenmund <wrstuden@vali.stanford.edu>
From: Todd Vierling <tv@NetBSD.ORG>
List: tech-kern
Date: 01/15/1998 18:06:06
On Thu, 15 Jan 1998, Bill Studenmund wrote:

: Jason's right that this question's orthogonal to the dev_t one, but I'd
: like to put forward a proposal just so folks can stop worrying about it
: for a while. Also, because I'd like us to go w/ 6 bits for subunits, which
: would leave no obvious bits for slices.

Why 6 bits for subunits?  What advantages, other than 14 bits of units, does
this offer over 12/8 split of the minor?  Remember, there are more devices
than disks, and device-specific flag bits should have somewhere to go.  4096
units seems quite adequate, and a need for more than that must be on a
Really Really Big System.  I believe that 12/8 gives us the maximum
value-versus-units.

=====
===== Todd Vierling (Personal tv@pobox.com) =====
== "There's a myth that there is a scarcity of justice to go around, so
== that if we extend justice to 'those people,' it will somehow erode the
== quality of justice everyone else receives."  -- Maria Price