filesystems — Linux filesystem types: minix, ext, ext2, ext3, Reiserfs, XFS, JFS, xia, msdos, umsdos, vfat, proc, nfs, iso9660, hpfs, sysv, smb, ncpfs
When, as is customary, the proc filesystem is mounted on
/proc, you can find in the file
/proc/filesystems which
filesystems your kernel currently supports. If you need a
currently unsupported one, insert the corresponding module or
recompile the kernel.
In order to use a filesystem, you have to mount it; see mount(8).
Below a short description of a few of the available filesystems.
minixis the filesystem used in the Minix operating system, the first to run under Linux. It has a number of shortcomings: a 64MB partition size limit, short filenames, a single time stamp, etc. It remains useful for floppies and RAM disks.
extis an elaborate extension of the minix filesystem. It
has been completely superseded by the second version of
the extended filesystem (ext2) and has been
removed from the kernel (in 2.1.21).
ext2is the high performance disk filesystem used by
Linux for fixed disks as well as removable media. The
second extended filesystem was designed as an extension
of the extended file system (ext). ext2 offers the best
performance (in terms of speed and CPU usage) of the
filesystems supported under Linux.
ext3is a journaling version of the ext2 filesystem. It is easy to switch back and forth between ext2 and ext3.
Reiserfsis a journaling file system, designed by Hans Reiser, that was integrated into Linux in kernel 2.4.1.
XFSis a journaling file system, developed by SGI, that was integrated into Linux in kernel 2.4.20.
JFSis a journaling file system, developed by IBM, that was integrated into Linux in kernel 2.4.24.
xiafswas designed and implemented to be a stable, safe
filesystem by extending the Minix filesystem code. It
provides the basic most requested features without
undue complexity. The xia filesystem is no
longer actively developed or maintained. It was removed
from the kernel in 2.1.21.
msdosis the filesystem used by DOS, Windows, and some
OS/2 computers. msdos filenames can be
no longer than 8 characters, followed by an optional
period and 3 character extension.
umsdosis an extended DOS filesystem used by Linux. It adds capability for long filenames, UID/GID, POSIX permissions, and special files (devices, named pipes, etc.) under the DOS filesystem, without sacrificing compatibility with DOS.
vfatis an extended DOS filesystem used by Microsoft Windows95 and Windows NT. VFAT adds the capability to use long filenames under the MSDOS filesystem.
procis a pseudo-filesystem which is used as an interface
to kernel data structures rather than reading and
interpreting /dev/kmem.
In particular, its files do not take disk space. See
proc(5).
iso9660is a CD-ROM filesystem type conforming to the ISO 9660 standard.
High SierraLinux supports High Sierra, the precursor to the ISO 9660 standard for CD-ROM filesystems. It is automatically recognized within the
iso9660filesystem support under Linux.Rock RidgeLinux also supports the System Use Sharing Protocol records specified by the Rock Ridge Interchange Protocol. They are used to further describe the files in the
iso9660filesystem to a UNIX host, and provide information such as long filenames, UID/GID, POSIX permissions, and devices. It is automatically recognized within theiso9660filesystem support under Linux.
hpfsis the High Performance Filesystem, used in OS/2. This filesystem is read-only under Linux due to the lack of available documentation.
sysvis an implementation of the SystemV/Coherent filesystem for Linux. It implements all of Xenix FS, SystemV/386 FS, and Coherent FS.
nfsis the network filesystem used to access disks located on remote computers.
smbis a network filesystem that supports the SMB protocol, used by Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT, and Lan Manager.
To use smb
fs, you need a special mount program, which can be
found in the ksmbfs package, found at ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/Filesystems/smbfs.
ncpfsis a network filesystem that supports the NCP protocol, used by Novell NetWare.
To use ncpfs, you need special
programs, which can be found at ftp://linux01.gwdg.de/pub/ncpfs.
This page is part of release 2.79 of the Linux man-pages project. A
description of the project, and information about reporting
bugs, can be found at
http://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.
|
Copyright 1996 Daniel Quinlan (Daniel.Quinlanlinux.org) This is free documentation; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. The GNU General Public License's references to "object code" and "executables" are to be interpreted as the output of any document formatting or typesetting system, including intermediate and printed output. This manual is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this manual; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111, USA. 2007-12-14 mtk Added Reiserfs, XFS, JFS. |