I noticed that there are btrfs utilities installed and running on my leap 15.3 system when I have ext4 filesystem for / and home partitions.
As they were installed by OpenSUSE install disk, I am wondering whether the btrfs utilities have any function on ext4 and can they be deleted without causing any problems?
I am also planning to delete snapper. I use mlocate as a filesystem log/search process.
Let me know if there is a reason to retain btrfs (maintenance/progs) packages and let them run. Also, is there any reason to retain snapper?
Hi
AFAIK you should be fine removing the files, eg snapper;
zypper rm grub2-snapper-plugin libsnapper5 snapper snapper-zypp-plugin yast2-snapper
The following 5 packages are going to be REMOVED:
grub2-snapper-plugin libsnapper5 snapper snapper-zypp-plugin yast2-snapper
5 packages to remove.
After the operation, 2.7 MiB will be freed.
Hi
I’m surprised in your use case you haven’t considered autoyast or kiwi to create your own install media…
For system services just stop, disable and mask? Or stop and zypper rm and lock… I don’t use lang files so they all get removed and locked, likewise for plymouth…
Oddly enough, on an EXT4 system snapperd runs by default for… well, no reason. It doesn’t seem to have any logic whether btrfs is in use on any drives, it simply runs by default.
**3400G:~ #** systemctl list-units '*snapper*' '*btrfs*'
UNIT LOAD ACTIVE SUB DESCRIPTION
btrfsmaintenance-refresh.path loaded active waiting Watch /etc/sysconfig/btrfsmaintenance
btrfs-balance.timer loaded active waiting Balance block groups on a btrfs filesystem
btrfs-defrag.timer loaded active waiting Defragment file data and/or directory metadata
btrfs-scrub.timer loaded active waiting Scrub btrfs filesystem, verify block checksums
btrfs-trim.timer loaded active waiting Discard unused blocks on a mounted filesystem
snapper-cleanup.timer loaded active waiting Daily Cleanup of Snapper Snapshots
snapper-timeline.timer loaded active waiting Timeline of Snapper Snapshots
LOAD = Reflects whether the unit definition was properly loaded.
ACTIVE = The high-level unit activation state, i.e. generalization of SUB.
SUB = The low-level unit activation state, values depend on unit type.
**7 loaded units listed.** Pass --all to see loaded but inactive units, too.
To show all installed unit files use 'systemctl list-unit-files'.
**3400G:~ #**
Looking at this topic, I also began to consider simply removing the Btrfs and Snapper packages but, I have a Laptop with a Btrfs system partition and, occasionally need to inspect disks with Btrfs partitions with this machine – therefore –
> systemctl list-units '*snapper*' '*btrfs*'
0 loaded units listed. Pass --all to see loaded but inactive units, too.
To show all installed unit files use 'systemctl list-unit-files'.
> systemctl list-unit-files '*snapper*' '*btrfs*'
UNIT FILE STATE
btrfsmaintenance-refresh.path masked
btrfs-balance.service static
btrfs-defrag.service static
btrfs-scrub.service static
btrfs-trim.service static
btrfsmaintenance-refresh.service masked
snapper-boot.service static
snapper-cleanup.service static
snapper-timeline.service static
btrfs-balance.timer masked
btrfs-defrag.timer masked
btrfs-scrub.timer masked
btrfs-trim.timer masked
snapper-boot.timer masked
snapper-cleanup.timer masked
snapper-timeline.timer masked
16 unit files listed.
>
Therefore, assuming that, there’s enough system partition space and, assuming that, you occasionally have to access disks with Btrfs partitions –
Simply setup Systemd to deactivate the Btrfs system utilities.
If on the other hand, you’re really running on a minimal non-Btrfs system, you can delete all the Btrfs and Snapper packages but,
you’ll have to lock the packages to avoid them being re-installed by Patterns
such as “Minimal Appliance Base” –
This is the minimal openSUSE runtime system. It is really a minimal system, you can login and a shell will be started, that’s all. It is intended as base for Appliances.
Upgrade or update without installing recommended packages:
**3400G:~ #** zypper dist-upgrade --no-recommends
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...
Warning: You are about to do a distribution upgrade with all enabled repositories. Make sure these repositories are compatible before you continue. See 'man zypper' for more information about this command.
Computing distribution upgrade...
Nothing to do.
**3400G:~ #**
or does it really matter?