FILESYSTEMS(5)		   Linux Programmer's Manual		FILESYSTEMS(5)



NAME
       filesystems  -  Linux  filesystem  types:  ext, ext2, ext3, ext4, hpfs,
       iso9660, JFS, minix, msdos, ncpfs nfs, ntfs, proc, Reiserfs, smb, sysv,
       umsdos, vfat, XFS, xiafs,

DESCRIPTION
       When, as is customary, the proc filesystem is mounted on /proc, you can
       find in	the  file  /proc/filesystems  which  filesystems  your	kernel
       currently  supports;  see  proc(5)  for	more  details.	 If you need a
       currently unsupported filesystem, insert the  corresponding  module  or
       recompile the kernel.

       In order to use a filesystem, you have to mount it; see mount(8).

       Below  a	 short	description of the available or historically available
       filesystems in the  Linux  kernel.   See	 kernel	 documentation	for  a
       comprehensive description of all options and limitations.

       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		 been completely superseded  by	 the  second  version  of  the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
		 filesystem (ext).  See ext2 (5).

       ext3	 is  a	journaling version of the ext2 filesystem.  It is easy
		 to switch back and forth between ext2	and  ext3.   See  ext3
		 (5).

       ext4	 is   a	  set	of  upgrades  to  ext3	including  substantial
		 performance  and   reliability	  enhancements,	  plus	 large
		 increases  in	volume,	 file, and directory size limits.  See
		 ext4 (5).

       hpfs	 is the High  Performance  Filesystem,	used  in  OS/2.	  This
		 filesystem  is	 read-only  under  Linux  due  to  the lack of
		 available documentation.

       iso9660	 is a CD-ROM  filesystem  type	conforming  to	the  ISO  9660
		 standard.

		 High Sierra
			Linux  supports	 High Sierra, the precursor to the ISO
			9660  standard	for   CD-ROM   filesystems.    It   is
			automatically recognized within the iso9660 filesystem
			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 filesystem to a UNIX host, and provide
			information such as  long  filenames,  UID/GID,	 POSIX
			permissions,   and   devices.	 It  is	 automatically
			recognized within the iso9660 filesystem support under
			Linux.

       JFS	 is  a	journaling  filesystem,	 developed  by	IBM,  that was
		 integrated into Linux in kernel 2.4.24.

       minix	 is the filesystem used in the	Minix  operating  system,  the
		 first	to  run under Linux.  It has a number of shortcomings,
		 including a 64MB partition size limit, short filenames, and a
		 single	 timestamp.   It  remains  useful for floppies and RAM
		 disks.

       msdos	 is the	 filesystem  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.

       ncpfs	 is  a network filesystem 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>.

       nfs	 is  the  network  filesystem  used to access disks located on
		 remote computers.

       ntfs	 replaces Microsoft Window's FAT  filesystems  (VFAT,  FAT32).
		 It   has   reliability,  performance,	and  space-utilization
		 enhancements plus features like ACLs, journaling, encryption,
		 and so on.

       proc	 is  a pseudo filesystem which is used as an interface to ker-
		 nel data structures  rather  than  reading  and  interpreting
		 /dev/kmem.   In particular, its files do not take disk space.
		 See proc(5).

       Reiserfs	 is a journaling filesystem, designed by Hans Reiser, that was
		 integrated into Linux in kernel 2.4.1.

       smb	 is  a network filesystem 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>.

       sysv	 is an implementation of the SystemV/Coherent  filesystem  for
		 Linux.	  It  implements  all of Xenix FS, SystemV/386 FS, and
		 Coherent FS.

       umsdos	 is an extended DOS filesystem used by Linux.  It  adds	 capa-
		 bility	 for  long  filenames, UID/GID, POSIX permissions, and
		 special files (devices, named pipes,  etc.)   under  the  DOS
		 filesystem, without sacrificing compatibility with DOS.

       vfat	 is an extended DOS filesystem used by Microsoft Windows95 and
		 Windows NT.  vfat adds the capability to use  long  filenames
		 under the MSDOS filesystem.

       XFS	 is  a journaling filesystem, developed by SGI, that was inte-
		 grated into Linux in kernel 2.4.20.

       xiafs	 was designed and implemented to be a stable, safe  filesystem
		 by  extending	the  Minix  filesystem	code.  It provides the
		 basic most requested features without undue complexity.   The
		 xiafs	filesystem  is	no  longer actively developed or main-
		 tained.  It was removed from the kernel in 2.1.21.

SEE ALSO
       fuse(4),	 btrfs(5),  ext2(5),  ext3(5),	 ext4(5),   nfs(5),   proc(5),
       tmpfs(5), fsck(8), mkfs(8), mount(8)

COLOPHON
       This  page  is  part of release 4.10 of the Linux man-pages project.  A
       description of the project, information about reporting bugs,  and  the
       latest	  version     of     this    page,    can    be	   found    at
       https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.



Linux				  2016-12-12			FILESYSTEMS(5)