| NAME | DESCRIPTION | SEE ALSO | COLOPHON | The Linux Programming Interface |
FILESYSTEMS(5) Linux Programmer's Manual FILESYSTEMS(5)
filesystems - Linux file-system types: minix, ext, ext2, ext3, ext4, Reiserfs,
XFS, JFS, xia, msdos, umsdos, vfat, ntfs, proc, nfs, iso9660, hpfs, sysv, smb,
ncpfs
When, as is customary, the proc file system is mounted on /proc, you can find
in the file /proc/filesystems which file systems your kernel currently
supports. If you need a currently unsupported one, insert the corresponding
module or recompile the kernel.
In order to use a file system, you have to mount it; see mount(8).
Below a short description of a few of the available file systems.
minix is the file system 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 timestamp, etc. It remains
useful for floppies and RAM disks.
ext is an elaborate extension of the minix file system. It has been
completely superseded by the second version of the extended file
system (ext2) and has been removed from the kernel (in 2.1.21).
ext2 is the high performance disk file system used by Linux for fixed
disks as well as removable media. The second extended file system
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 file systems supported under Linux.
ext3 is a journaling version of the ext2 file system. It is easy to
switch back and forth between ext2 and ext3.
ext4 is a set of upgrades to ext3 including substantial performance and
reliability enhancements, plus large increases in volume, file, and
directory size limits.
Reiserfs is a journaling file system, designed by Hans Reiser, that was
integrated into Linux in kernel 2.4.1.
XFS is a journaling file system, developed by SGI, that was integrated
into Linux in kernel 2.4.20.
JFS is a journaling file system, developed by IBM, that was integrated
into Linux in kernel 2.4.24.
xiafs was designed and implemented to be a stable, safe file system by
extending the Minix file system code. It provides the basic most
requested features without undue complexity. The xia file system is
no longer actively developed or maintained. It was removed from the
kernel in 2.1.21.
msdos is the file system 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.
umsdos is an extended DOS file system used by Linux. It adds capability
for long filenames, UID/GID, POSIX permissions, and special files
(devices, named pipes, etc.) under the DOS file system, without
sacrificing compatibility with DOS.
vfat is an extended DOS file system used by Microsoft Windows95 and
Windows NT. VFAT adds the capability to use long filenames under
the MSDOS file system.
ntfs replaces Microsoft Window's FAT file systems (VFAT, FAT32). It has
reliability, performance, and space-utilization enhancements plus
features like ACLs, journaling, encryption, and so on.
proc is a pseudo file system 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).
iso9660 is a CD-ROM file system type conforming to the ISO 9660 standard.
High Sierra
Linux supports High Sierra, the precursor to the ISO 9660
standard for CD-ROM file systems. It is automatically
recognized within the iso9660 file-system support under
Linux.
Rock Ridge
Linux 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 iso9660 file system
to a UNIX host, and provide information such as long
filenames, UID/GID, POSIX permissions, and devices. It is
automatically recognized within the iso9660 file-system
support under Linux.
hpfs is the High Performance Filesystem, used in OS/2. This file system
is read-only under Linux due to the lack of available documentation.
sysv is an implementation of the SystemV/Coherent file system for Linux.
It implements all of Xenix FS, SystemV/386 FS, and Coherent FS.
nfs is the network file system used to access disks located on remote
computers.
smb is a network file system 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.
ncpfs is a network file system 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.
proc(5), fsck(8), mkfs(8), mount(8)
This page is part of release 3.32 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/.
Linux 2010-05-24 FILESYSTEMS(5)
HTML rendering created 2010-12-03 by Michael Kerrisk, author of The Linux Programming Interface