Basic Files Systems in Linux
minix is 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. ext is 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 It has been completely superseded by the second version of the extended filesystem ( ext2 ) and has been removed from the kernel (in 2.1.21). ext2 is 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. ext3 is a journaling version of the ext2 filesystem. It is easy to switch back and forth between ext2 and ext3. xiafs was designed and implemented to be a stable, safe filesystem by extending the Minix filesystem code. It provides the ba...