{
  "slug": "physical-journaling",
  "term": "Physical journaling",
  "aliases": [],
  "definition": "Physical journaling records modified on-disk representations, such as metadata buffer contents or changed regions, for recovery.",
  "note": "Physical logging need not mean every record is a complete block image: the XFS design tracks dirty regions of modified items and combines logging mechanisms. [xfs] Keep record payload, transferred blocks and internal media writes separate when comparing overhead. [hesela]",
  "status": "shipping",
  "advantages": [],
  "limitations": [],
  "related": [
    "logical-journaling",
    "ext4-fast-commit",
    "journal-checkpoint",
    "write-ahead-log"
  ],
  "supersedes": [],
  "supersededBy": [],
  "firstSeen": null,
  "lastSeen": null,
  "citations": [
    {
      "id": "xfs",
      "title": "Linux v6.12: XFS Logging Design, introduction",
      "url": "https://github.com/torvalds/linux/blob/v6.12/Documentation/filesystems/xfs/xfs-delayed-logging-design.rst",
      "accessed": "2026-10-15"
    },
    {
      "id": "hesela",
      "title": "Hesela: journal representations and FastCommit cost audit",
      "url": "https://hesela.com/analyses/ext4-journal-replay-revocation/#journal-cost",
      "accessed": "2026-10-15"
    }
  ],
  "updated": "2026-10-15"
}