diff --git a/fs/overlayfs/ovl_entry.h b/fs/overlayfs/ovl_entry.h
index b429c80..1b5a2094 100644
--- a/fs/overlayfs/ovl_entry.h
+++ b/fs/overlayfs/ovl_entry.h
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ struct ovl_config {
 	bool nfs_export;
 	int xino;
 	bool metacopy;
+	bool ovl_volatile;
 };
 
 struct ovl_sb {
@@ -90,6 +91,11 @@ static inline struct ovl_fs *OVL_FS(struct super_block *sb)
 	return (struct ovl_fs *)sb->s_fs_info;
 }
 
+static inline bool ovl_should_sync(struct ovl_fs *ofs)
+{
+	return !ofs->config.ovl_volatile;
+}
+
 /* private information held for every overlayfs dentry */
 struct ovl_entry {
 	union {