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To successfully follow the steps outlined in this article, you'll need:

  • A CentOS 7 operating system installed.
  • Superuser (root) privileges or the ability to use the sudo command.
  • At least one available storage device (disk or partition) on which the Btrfs file system will be created.

Installing Btrfs Tools

  1. Update the system and install necessary packages: Begin by updating your system and installing the required tools for working with Btrfs. In the terminal, execute the following commands:
    sudo yum update
    sudo yum install btrfs-progs
    ​

 

Creating a Btrfs File System

  1. Identify the storage device: First, identify the device on which you want to create the Btrfs file system using the lsblk or fdisk -l command.

  2. Create the file system: Assuming the device is named /dev/sdx, use the following command to create a Btrfs file system on this device:

    sudo mkfs.btrfs /dev/sdx
    

    Note: Replace /dev/sdx with the actual name of your device.

Mounting the Btrfs File System

  1. Create a mount point: Before mounting the file system, create a mount point, for example, /mnt/btrfs:

    sudo mkdir /mnt/btrfs
    
  2. Mount the file system: Mount the file system using the mount command:
    sudo mount /dev/sdx /mnt/btrfs
    ​

    For persistent mounting, add an entry to /etc/fstab.

Managing the Btrfs File System

  • Working with Snapshots: Btrfs allows easy creation of snapshots of your data, useful for backup or system state restoration.

    sudo btrfs subvolume snapshot /mnt/btrfs /mnt/btrfs/snapshot_name
    
  • Adding Devices to Btrfs: Btrfs supports easy capacity expansion by adding new devices to the existing file system.

    sudo btrfs device add /dev/sdy /mnt/btrfs
    sudo btrfs filesystem balance /mnt/btrfs
    
  • Checking and Repairing the System: To check the consistency of the file system and repair any errors, you can use Btrfs tools:

    sudo btrfs check /dev/sdx
    sudo btrfs rescue super-recover /dev/sdx
    sudo btrfs filesystem repair /dev/sdx
    

Btrfs offers advanced features for data management and backup, making it a suitable choice for servers and systems requiring high levels of data integrity and flexibility. The above steps should provide a basic overview of how to create and manage a Btrfs file system on CentOS 7. For deeper understanding and advanced configurations, it's recommended to study the official Btrfs documentation.