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btrfs-balance:tldr:6c98d

btrfs-balance: Balance a max of 10 metadata chunks with less than 20% utilization and at least 1 chunk on a given device `devid` (see `btrfs filesystem show`).
$ sudo btrfs balance start -musage=${20},limit=${10},devid=${devid} ${path-to-btrfs_filesystem}
try on your machine

This command is used to start balancing the data across multiple devices in a Btrfs filesystem.

Here is a breakdown of the components of the command:

  • sudo: It is a command used in Unix-like operating systems to execute a command with administrative or root privileges.
  • btrfs: It refers to the Btrfs filesystem utility.
  • balance start: This part of the command instructs the Btrfs utility to start balancing the data across devices.
  • -musage=${20}, limit=${10}, devid=${devid}: These are options that provide parameters for the balancing operation. Here is what each option does:
    • -musage=${20}: This option sets the usage threshold for metadata (or system data) on each device to 20%. When the metadata usage exceeds this threshold, balancing is triggered.
    • limit=${10}: This option sets the maximum number of balancing operations to be performed simultaneously to 10. It limits the amount of resources used for balancing.
    • devid=${devid}: This option specifies the device ID on which the balancing is performed. Replace ${devid} with the actual device ID where the Btrfs filesystem exists.
  • ${path-to-btrfs_filesystem}: This part of the command should be replaced with the actual path to the mounted Btrfs filesystem. It specifies the location where the filesystem is mounted in the directory tree.

When you run this command, with appropriate values provided for the options and variables, it will trigger the Btrfs filesystem utility to start balancing the data across devices, based on the given parameters.

This explanation was created by an AI. In most cases those are correct. But please always be careful and never run a command you are not sure if it is safe.
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