Doesn't fsck write the metadata in the native filesystem format where
"native" is defined as the current format of the existing filesystem?  That
is, if I take a big NDN filesystem from a Sparc, plug it into an I386, run
fsck, I expect it to make corrections in big NDN format so that I can just
stick it back on the Sparc fully fixed and functional.  Is this not how you
intend it to work or did I mis-understand something you said??

	I assume it's still faster to run ffs in the native ndn format?
-Brian

On Mar 4,  5:36pm, Manuel Bouyer wrote:
} Subject: bi-endian ffs available
} 
} Hi,
} I've made big progress in getting ffs read both big and little endian
} file systems. A preliminary (but working :) version is available
} at ftp.netbsd.org:/pub/incoming/bouyer/ffs_endian.diff.gz.
} 
} Features are:
} kernel can mount read/write both big and little endian ffs. The selection
} is made on the superblock magic order at mount time.
} 
} fsck_ffs can work on both endian, and will convert from one to another
} if the '-s' flag is given. However, the filesystem will be unrecoverable if
} fsck is stopped before the end of the convertion for some reason.
} I really don't know how to be safer here. Once fsck starts rewrinting the
} fielsystem metadatas, there is no way to know where it stopped.
} 
} Other filsystem utilities (badsect, clri, dump, fsdb, fsirand, newfs, tunefs,
} dumpfs, quotacheck - let me know if I missed some !) will work on both
} byte order. newfs will be able create both byte order ffs (not done yet,
} but will be soon).
} Quotacheck will be able to work on any byte order, but the quota file will
} always be used in host byte order - if you move a disk with user quotas,
} you will have to rerun quotacheck on it. If peoples feels it's a too strong
} limitation, I can have a look at this too. My understanding of things are
} that such situations should be exceptional. I can't see the use of quotas
} on removable medias.
} 
} On the kernel side, I added a 'int um_flags' to struct ufsmount.
} For now it can only take one value - UFS_NEEDSWAP. This flags is checked
} at various place in the kernel when reading/writing metadatas.
} As inodes and the superblocks have a in-memory copy, they are converted
} in whole at read/write time (exept the blocks addresses in the inode).
} The blocks adresses (in inode or indirect blocks), cylinder groups and the
} directory infos are converted at use time, as the in-memory copy is
} the disk buffer itself. Things could maybe be improved here by adding a
} cylinder group cache, as does linux, but this needs further studies.
} 
} I plan to commit this next friday, unless I get negative comments sine then.
} 
} --
} Manuel Bouyer, LIP6, Universite Paris VI.           Manuel.Bouyer@lip6.fr
} --
>-- End of excerpt from Manuel Bouyer