What are extended attributes? How do I use them with PVFS?
Extended attributes are name:value pairs associated with objects (files and directories in the case of PVFS). They are extensions to the normal attributes which are associated with all objects in the system (i.e. the stat data). A complete overview of the extended attributes concepts can be found in man pages section 5 for attr. On supported 2.4 kernels and all 2.6 kernels, PVFS allows users to store extended attributes on file-system objects through the VFS as well as through the system interface.
