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1 .\" Copyright 1996 Daniel Quinlan (Daniel.Quinlan@linux.org)
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23 .TH FILESYSTEMS 5 2001-12-07 "" "Linux Programmer's Manual"
24 .nh
25 .SH NAME
26 filesystems \- Linux filesystem types: minix, ext, ext2, ext3, xia, msdos,
27 umsdos, vfat, proc, nfs, iso9660, hpfs, sysv, smb, ncpfs
28 .SH DESCRIPTION
29 When, as is customary, the
30 .B proc
31 filesystem is mounted on
32 .IR /proc ,
33 you can find in the file
34 .I /proc/filesystems
35 which filesystems your kernel currently supports.
36 If you need a currently unsupported one, insert the corresponding
37 module or recompile the kernel.
39 In order to use a filesystem, you have to
40 .I mount
41 it, see
42 .BR mount (8)
43 for the mount command, and for the available mount options.
45 Below a short description of a few of the available filesystems.
47 .TP
48 .B "minix"
49 is the filesystem used in the Minix operating system, the first to run
50 under Linux. It has a number of shortcomings: a 64MB partition size
51 limit, short filenames, a single time stamp, etc.
52 It remains useful for floppies and RAM disks.
53 .TP
54 .B ext
55 is an elaborate extension of the
56 .B minix
57 filesystem. It has been completely superseded by the second version
58 of the extended filesystem
59 .RB ( ext2 )
60 and has been removed from the kernel (in 2.1.21).
61 .TP
62 .B ext2
63 is the high performance disk filesystem used by Linux for fixed disks
64 as well as removable media.
65 The second extended filesystem was designed as an extension of the
66 extended file system
67 .RB ( ext ).
68 .B ext2
69 offers the best performance (in terms of speed and CPU usage) of
70 the filesystems supported under Linux.
71 .TP
72 .B ext3
73 is a journaling version of the ext2 filesystem. It is easy to
74 switch back and forth between ext2 and ext3. ext3 offers the most
75 complete set of journaling options available among journaling
76 filesystems.
77 .\"----------------------------------------------------------------------
78 .TP
79 .B xiafs
80 was designed and implemented to be a stable, safe filesystem by
81 extending the Minix filesystem code. It provides the basic most
82 requested features without undue complexity.
83 The
84 .B xia
85 filesystem is no longer actively developed or maintained.
86 It was removed from the kernel in 2.1.21.
87 .TP
88 .B msdos
89 is the filesystem used by DOS, Windows, and some OS/2 computers.
90 .B msdos
91 filenames can be no longer than 8 characters, followed by an
92 optional period and 3 character extension.
93 .TP
94 .B umsdos
95 is an extended DOS filesystem used by Linux. It adds capability for
96 long filenames, UID/GID, POSIX permissions, and special files
97 (devices, named pipes, etc.) under the DOS filesystem, without
98 sacrificing compatibility with DOS.
99 .TP
100 .B vfat
101 is an extended DOS filesystem used by Microsoft Windows95 and Windows NT.
102 VFAT adds the capability to use long filenames under the MSDOS filesystem.
103 .TP
104 .B proc
105 is a pseudo-filesystem which is used as an interface to kernel data
106 structures rather than reading and interpreting
107 .IR /dev/kmem .
108 In particular, its files do not take disk space. See proc(5).
109 .TP
110 .B iso9660
111 is a CD-ROM filesystem type conforming to the ISO 9660 standard.
112 .RS
113 .TP
114 .B "High Sierra"
115 Linux supports High Sierra, the precursor to the ISO 9660 standard for
116 CD-ROM filesystems. It is automatically recognized within the
117 .B iso9660
118 filesystem support under Linux.
119 .TP
120 .B "Rock Ridge"
121 Linux also supports the System Use Sharing Protocol records specified
122 by the Rock Ridge Interchange Protocol. They are used to further
123 describe the files in the
124 .B iso9660
125 filesystem to a UNIX host, and provide information such as long
126 filenames, UID/GID, POSIX permissions, and devices. It is
127 automatically recognized within the
128 .B iso9660
129 filesystem support under Linux.
130 .RE
131 .TP
132 .B hpfs
133 is the High Performance Filesystem, used in OS/2. This filesystem is
134 read-only under Linux due to the lack of available documentation.
135 .TP
136 .B sysv
137 is an implementation of the SystemV/Coherent filesystem for Linux. It
138 implements all of Xenix FS, SystemV/386 FS, and Coherent FS.
139 .TP
140 .B nfs
141 is the network filesystem used to access disks located on remote computers.
142 .TP
143 .B smb
144 is a network filesystem that supports the SMB protocol, used by
145 Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT, and Lan Manager.
146 .sp
147 To use
148 .B smb
149 fs, you need a special mount program, which can be found in the ksmbfs
150 package, found at
151 .IR ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/Filesystems/smbfs .
152 .TP
153 .B ncpfs
154 is a network filesystem that supports the NCP protocol, used by
155 Novell NetWare.
156 .sp
157 To use
158 .BR ncpfs ,
159 you need special programs, which can be found at
160 .IR ftp://linux01.gwdg.de/pub/ncpfs .
161 .SH "SEE ALSO"
162 .BR proc (5),
163 .BR fsck (8),
164 .BR mkfs (8),
165 .BR mount (8)