STATUS

Current

Release 2.0.0 is now available supporting the 2.4 series kernels! Please see the download page for the software. Until this site is updated, you will find most documentation included with the sources, including manual pages and text files.

This web site and related documentation will be updated soon.

Recent

The Overlay Filesystem is currently being upgraded to support Linux Kernel version 2.4. During the first development effort, support was developed for the 2.0 series of kernels. Once 2.4 support is stable, support for 2.2 kernels may be added. If you feel 2.2 support is important to you, please let me know!

Please refer to a copy of the original site for the 2.0 kernel version and related documentation for useful information. The release also contains many useful documents.

Original Overlay Filesystem Web Site

The last release of the Overlay Filesystem for the 2.0 series kernels was Version 1.0.5.

Where did it go?

Some of you may remember this project. It was started in 1998. After the 2.2 series kernels were released, and the 2.0 kernels started to phase out, support for the Overlay Filesystem dropped.

This was due to the large amount of change in the filesystem interface and operation of the VFS from 2.0 to 2.2, which greatly affected the Overlay Filesystem since, in many ways, the ovlfs acts as a proxy for other filesystems. This means that the Overlay Filesystem is more sensitive to changes in the VFS than most filesystems.

In addition to the changing VFS, I found myself too busy to focus the time and effort needed for the upgrade, and no progress was made by volunteers.

How long will it last this time?

This is an excellent question. While I would love to have the financial independence to guarantee a certain amount of time and effort to this project, my situation continually changes.

Here is what I can tell you with confidence at this time:

• The 2.4 kernel support is functioning and almost complete.

• The VFS in 2.5 kernels appears to be significantly unchanged from the 2.4 version.

• Working on this project provides the benefit of keeping my Linux kernel skills fresh and up-to-date.

• Until January 2001, I was not developing Linux kernel software professionally. It is my primary focus at this time.

Highlights

Below are highlights of the Overlay Filesystem development's status.

• [2003-06-10] Version 2.0.0 released.

• [2003-05-25] Finished tracking down and fixing an important bug.

• [2003-05] Returned to work on the Filesystem.

• [2003-03-21] Started a new job; the change in my schedule made it difficult to return to the Overlay Filesystem for some time.

• [2003-02-21] Updated web site on Sourceforge.

Please get involved and help this project to succeed!