Chapter 5: Common Linux filesystems

msdos

DOS FAT filesystem

vfat

DOS FAT filesystem with long filename support

ntfs (New Technology File System)

a Microsoft proprietary filesystem developed for its Windows operating systems

zfs (Zettabyte File System)

a VERY high-performance filesystem and volume manager originally created by Sun Microsystems that protects against data corruption and has features that support very large distributed storage systems; many large-scale Linux server systems in industry use the zfs filesystem to store and manage large amounts of data

xfs (X File System)

a high-performance filesystem created by Silicon Graphics for use on their IRIX UNIX systems; many Linux admins prefer to use xfs on systems that need to quickly write large numbers of files to the hard disk

vxfs (Veritas File System)

a journaling filesystem that offers large file support and supports access control lists (individual user permissions) and is commonly used by major version of UNIX

reiserfs

a journalizing filesystem similar to ext3 and more suited for use with databases

btrfs (B-tree File System)

a new filesystem for Linux systems that includes many features that are geared towards large-scale storage; still in development but envisioned to replace ext4 and reiserfs filesystems in the long term

cramfs (Compressed ROM Filesystem)

a read-only filesystem typically used on embedded Linux systems to host system files in a small amount of storage space

bfs (Boot File System)

a small, bottable filesystem used to hold teh files necessary for system startup; it is commonly used on UNIX systems

hpfs (High-Performance File System)

an IBM proprietary OS/2 filesystem that provides long filename support and is optimized to manipulate data on large disk volumes

hfs, hfsplus (Hierarchical File System)

native to Apple Macintosh computers

iso9660

originated from the International Standards Organization recommendation 9660 and is used to access data stored on CDs and DVDs

Ext2 (Second Extended Filesystem)

traditional filesystem used on Linux; supports access control lists (individual user permissions); retains its name from being the new version of the original extended filesystem, based on the Minix filesystem

minix

used by Linux Torvalds in the early days of Linux development

udf (Universal Disk Format Filesystem)

used by software programs that write to a CD-RW or DVD-RW drive

ext3 (Third Extended Filesystem)

variation on ext2 that allows for jounaling and, thus, has a faster startup and recovery time

ext4 (Fourth Extended Filesystem)

variation on ext3 that has larger filesystem support and speed enhancements