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<?xml version='1.0' encoding="UTF-8"?>
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<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/handbook/hb-install-filesystems.xml,v 1.2 2008/03/03 01:27:18 nightmorph Exp $ -->
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<!DOCTYPE included SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd">
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<included>
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<version>3</version>
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<date>2008-03-03</date>
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<section id="filesystemsdesc">
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<title>Filesystems</title>
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<body>
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<p test="contains('x86 Alpha',func:keyval('arch'))">
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The Linux kernel supports various filesystems. We'll explain ext2, ext3,
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ReiserFS, XFS and JFS as these are the most commonly used filesystems on Linux
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systems.
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</p>
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<p test="func:keyval('arch')='IA64'">
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The Linux kernel supports various filesystems. We'll explain vfat, ext2, ext3,
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ReiserFS, XFS and JFS as these are the most commonly used filesystems on Linux
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systems.
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</p>
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<p test="func:keyval('arch')='AMD64'">
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Several filesystems are available. Some of them are found stable on the amd64
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architecture, others aren't. The following filesystems are found to be stable:
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ext2, ext3 and XFS. JFS and ResierFS may work but need more testing. If you're
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really adventurous you can try the other filesystems.
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</p>
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<p test="func:keyval('arch')='arm'">
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Several filesystems are available. Some of them are found stable on the arm
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architecture, others aren't. ext2 and ext3 are found to be stable. JFS, XFS and
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ReiserFS may work but need more testing. If you're really adventurous you can
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try the other filesystems.
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</p>
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<p test="func:keyval('arch')='HPPA'">
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Several filesystems are available. Ext2, ext3, XFS and reiserfs are found
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stable on the HPPA architecture. The others are very experimental.
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</p>
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<p test="func:keyval('arch')='MIPS'">
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Several filesystems are available. ReiserFS, EXT2 and EXT3 are found stable on
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the MIPS architectures, others are experimental.
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</p>
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<p test="func:keyval('arch')='PPC'">
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Several filesystems are available for use on the PowerPC architecture including
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ext2, ext3, ReiserFS and XFS, each with their strengths and faults.
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</p>
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<note test="func:keyval('arch')='PPC64'">
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Several filesystems are available. ext2, ext3 and ReiserFS support is built in
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the Installation CD kernels. JFS and XFS support is available through kernel
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modules.
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</note>
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<p test="func:keyval('arch')='SPARC'">
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Several filesystems are available, some are known to be stable on the
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SPARC architecture. Ext2 and ext3, for example, are known to work well.
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Alternate filesystems may not function correctly.
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</p>
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<note test="func:keyval('arch')='Alpha'">
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<c>aboot</c> only supports booting from <b>ext2</b> and <b>ext3</b>
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partitions.
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</note>
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</body>
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<body>
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<p test="func:keyval('arch')='IA64'">
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<b>vfat</b> is the MS-DOS filesystem, updated to allow long filenames. It is
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also the only filesystem type that the EFI firmware on ia64 systems
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understands. The boot partition on ia64 systems should always be vfat, but for
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your data partitions you should use one of the other filesystems listed below.
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</p>
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<p>
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<b>ext2</b> is the tried and true Linux filesystem but doesn't have metadata
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journaling, which means that routine ext2 filesystem checks at startup time can
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be quite time-consuming. There is now quite a selection of newer-generation
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journaled filesystems that can be checked for consistency very quickly and are
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thus generally preferred over their non-journaled counterparts. Journaled
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filesystems prevent long delays when you boot your system and your filesystem
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happens to be in an inconsistent state.
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</p>
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<p>
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<b>ext3</b> is the journaled version of the ext2 filesystem, providing metadata
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journaling for fast recovery in addition to other enhanced journaling modes like
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full data and ordered data journaling. It uses an HTree index that enables high
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performance in almost all situations. In short, ext3 is a very good and reliable
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filesystem. Ext3 is the recommended all-purpose all-platform filesystem.
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</p>
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</body>
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<body test="not(func:keyval('arch')='SPARC')">
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<p test="not(func:keyval('arch')='PPC')">
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<b>JFS</b> is IBM's high-performance journaling filesystem. JFS is a light,
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fast and reliable B+tree-based filesystem with good performance in various
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conditions.
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</p>
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<p>
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<b>ReiserFS</b> is a B+tree-based journaled filesystem that has good overall
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performance, especially when dealing with many tiny files at the cost of more
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CPU cycles. ReiserFS appears to be less maintained than other filesystems.
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</p>
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<p>
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<b>XFS</b> is a filesystem with metadata journaling which comes with a robust
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feature-set and is optimized for scalability. XFS seems to be less forgiving to
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various hardware problems.
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</p>
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</body>
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</section>
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</included>
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