[LAD] [OT] bash vs disk activity

Ross Vandegrift ross at kallisti.us
Tue Oct 9 11:30:35 UTC 2007


On Tue, Oct 09, 2007 at 05:50:12PM +0700, Patrick Shirkey wrote:
> For example if I transfer 200mb to a usb disk the copy command takes
> about 30 seconds before it returns and the data takes about 5 minutes
> before it is actually finished being transferred and the device is
> unmountable. 
> 
> How would I track the 5 minutes of data transfer with bash?

There's not a super-easy way since that data is being written in the
background out of the buffer-cache.  You could use iostat and vmstat
for this purpose, but it kinda seems like overkill to me.

"iostat -x" gives you detailed I/O statistics on each partition
"vmstat" gives you information on various VM data, including buffers

My idea would just be to umount the disk and wait until that returns.
-- 
Ross Vandegrift
ross at kallisti.us

"The good Christian should beware of mathematicians, and all those who
make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that the mathematicians
have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and to confine
man in the bonds of Hell."
	--St. Augustine, De Genesi ad Litteram, Book II, xviii, 37



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