FILESYSTEMS(5)		   Linux Programmers Manual	       FILESYSTEMS(5)



NAME
       filesystems   -	Linux  file-system  types:  minix,  ext,  ext2,  ext3,
       Reiserfs, XFS, JFS, xia, msdos, umsdos, vfat, proc, nfs, iso9660, hpfs,
       sysv, smb, ncpfs

DESCRIPTION
       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		 been  completely  superseded  by  the	second	version of the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.

       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.

       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.

SEE ALSO
       proc(5), fsck(8), mkfs(8), mount(8)

COLOPHON
       This page is part of release 3.05 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				  2007-12-14			FILESYSTEMS(5)