Persistent /var

slh · February 6, 2022, 1:01am

That is a build-time decision:

base-files: add option to make /var persistent

committed 01:05PM - 25 Feb 19 UTC

In OpenWrt, /var is symlinked to /tmp by default. This is done to reduce the amo…unt of writes to the flash chip, which often have not the greatest durability. As a result, things like DHCP or UPnP lease files, are not persistent across reboots. Since OpenWrt can run on devices with more durable storage, it makes sense to have an option for a persistent /var. Add an option to make /var persistent. When enabled, /var will no longer be symlinked to /tmp, but /var/run will be symlink to /tmp/run, as it should contains only files that should not be kept during reboot. The option is off by default, to maintain the current behaviour. Signed-off-by: Stijn Tintel <stijn@linux-ipv6.be>