Does IRIX support sparse files?

XFS does not provide direct support for snapshots, as it expects the snapshot process to be implemented by the volume manager. Taking a snapshot of an XFS filesystem involves freezing I/O to the filesystem using the xfs_freeze utility, having the volume manager perform the actual snapshot, and then unfreezing I/O to resume normal operations. The snapshot can then be mounted read-only for backup purposes. XFS releases on IRIX incorporated an integrated volume manager called XLV. This volume manager has not been ported to Linux. In recent Linux kernels, the xfs_freeze functionality is implemented in the VFS layer, and happens automatically when the Volume Manager's snapshot functionality is invoked.