non-buffered I/O in Linux?

Hello SuSE folkz, Does somebody know if Linux kernel allows to perform non-buffered I/O on raw disk partitions? In documentation on InnoDB tables it said: By using a raw disk you can on some Unixes perform unbuffered I/O. I assume that it should improve DB performance. Thank you in advance for any thoughts or sources of information. Alex -- MS Windows users should be covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act! --------------> Try Linux and you'll understand why <--------------