File System Type?

impact · n00b Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 48

Alrighty. I've been crawling google for a while trying to find more info, but I just don't see enough anywhere.

I'm planning on reformatting (need to re-partition), later tonight, and was debating what FS to use.
I've used EXT3 in the past, and have been on XFS for the last little while (3 months), with no real problems. But I heard that Reiser4 was out (and some distros are starting to use it), so I was wondering what people thought would be a good choice.

I'm not looking to start any sort of war, just looking for more info...

From what I've read, EXT3 is rock stable, but XFS/Reiser are faster, but sometimes at the cost of being risky with data. I read that XFS/Reiser have problems when the power is pulled in the middle of operation (because of the way journals are written)...

Main uses: Music, Video, Web, Programming (Development)
So nothing like Video/Audio editing thats real HD dependant... A bit of Graphic work here and there, but nothing major...
Suggestions?

codergeek42 · Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 11:15 pm Post subject:

Ext3 is really the tried and tested workhorse of Linux filesystems. If you're happy with it I'd say don't change. Check the link in my signature if you want a few tips if you're interested. You really should not use Reiser4 yet, since it's still deemed VERY experimental and not supported in anyway by the Gentoo dev team. I currently use ext3 on all nine of my partitions without problems.

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mikejr · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 07 Nov 2004 Posts: 107

I've been using JFS since I came to Gentoo and haven't seen a reason to go back to reiserfs. I've had a couple bad dismounts and haven't suffered from it

yet...

More info on filesystems.
http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue55/florido.html

masonm · Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 11:24 pm Post subject:

I use reiserfs on my notebook and have never had a problem. Reiserfs4 is still too new and I don't like taking chances with my file system with something so relatively new.

EXT3 is indeed tried and true. The only place reiser really shows a marked advantage over ext3 is when it comes to dealing with small files as it improves reading these files quicker and doesn't waste a lot of space.

I've heard of people having problems with corrupted files if there is a crash during the write operation, but that was older reiser set ups before reiser became a true journalling format. We have frequent power outages here in the summer (Florida) and have never yet had any problems using reiser.

But it really boils down to what you're most comfortable with.
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Linux: because a PC is a terrible thing to waste.

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impact · n00b Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 48

"but that was older reiser set ups before reiser became a true journalling format."

Anyone have anything else to add on the newer Reiser3 FS?

I didn't know Reiser4 is still that experimental...
On one note though, I do have plenty of drives here, and I could keep a good backup of one of them... (backup enough to use an experimental)

So what I'm hearing is decent things about newer Reiser3 (supported in Gentoo correct?)
and good things about EXT3 and JFS
Nothing about XFS yet...

Wonkey_Donkey · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 14 Oct 2003 Posts: 93

You also dont mention partition sizes.

When I setup my main PC here, I used reiser3 on all of the partitions. A couple of them were 120Gb in size.

But what I noticed was the time it takes to mount a reiser3 partition of that size or bigger. At first I thought it had locked up on boot because of the time it took.

Changing them to EXT3 and they mount in a flash, and I didnt really see any reduction in performance. Im talking normal everyday stuff like websurfing, typing letters etc etc.

Stability-wise, Ive never had problems with either system.

Overall though, I find EXT3 to give the best balance of performance and reliability.

lotw · Guru Joined: 09 Jan 2005 Posts: 342 Location: Palmdale

Bodger · n00b Joined: 18 Nov 2004 Posts: 47

I use Reiser3, on Gentoo and an old Debian. These machines are setup as Samba file servers. I have had no problems with Reiser, and I chose it for the small file performance reasons, since that is 90% of what we do.

Julian

Bob P · Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2005 7:13 pm Post subject: Re: File System Type?