There was a discussion a while back on the issue of 64-bit inode
numbers, and I recall it sounding like a can of worms. There seem to be
quite a few places where POSIX-mandated structures return 32-bit inode
numbers, so it's not something that can be changed lightly. Library
support and binary compatibility is an issue.
Perhaps you could just use the block number on the volume as an inode
number? You really want to go with something useful, and block numbers
will probably stay in the 32 bit range for a while.
Regards,
Bill