.B \-b
.I block_size
] [
+.B \-m
+.I global_metadata_options
+] [
.B \-d
.I data_section_options
] [
maximum is 65536 (64 KiB).
XFS on Linux currently only supports pagesize or smaller blocks.
.TP
+.BI \-m " global_metadata_options"
+These options specify metadata format options that either apply to the entire
+filesystem or aren't easily characterised by a specific functionality group. The
+valid
+.I global_metadata_options
+are:
+.RS 1.2i
+.TP
+.BI crc= value
+This is used to create a filesystem which maintains and checks CRC information
+in all metadata objects on disk. The value is either 0 to disable the feature,
+or 1 to enable the use of CRCs.
+.IP
+CRCs enable enhanced error detection due to hardware issues, whilst the format
+changes also improves crash recovery algorithms and the ability of various tools
+to validate and repair metadata corruptions when they are found. The CRC
+algorithm used is CRC32c, so the overhead is dependent on CPU architecture as
+some CPUs have hardware acceleration of this algorithm. Typically the overhead
+of calculating and checking the CRCs is not noticable in normal operation.
+.IP
+By default,
+.B mkfs.xfs
+will not enable metadata CRCs.
+.TP
+.BI finobt= value
+This option enables the use of a separate free inode btree index in each
+allocation group. The value is either 0 to disable the feature, or 1 to create
+a free inode btree in each allocation group.
+.IP
+The free inode btree mirrors the existing allocated inode btree index which
+indexes both used and free inodes. The free inode btree does not index used
+inodes, allowing faster, more consistent inode allocation performance as
+filesystems age.
+.IP
+By default,
+.B mkfs.xfs
+will not create free inode btrees. This feature is also currently only available
+for filesystems created with the
+.B \-m crc=1
+option set.
+.RE
+.TP
.BI \-d " data_section_options"
These options specify the location, size, and other parameters of the
data section of the filesystem. The valid