Datasheet

Chapter 1: What is Ubuntu?
11
Table 1-1: Linux Filesystems
Filesystem Description
ext Linux Extended filesystem—the original Linux filesystem
ext2 Second extended filesystem; provided advanced features over ext
ext3 Third extended filesystem; supports journaling
hpfs OS/2 high-performance filesystem
jfs IBM’s journaling file system
iso9660 ISO 9660 filesystem (CD-ROMs)
minix MINIX filesystem
msdos Microsoft FAT16
ncp Netware filesystem
nfs Network filesystem
ntfs Support for Microsoft NT filesystem
proc Access to system information
reiserFS Advanced Linux filesystem for better performance and disk recovery
smb Samba SMB filesystem for network access
sysv Older UNIX filesystem
ufs BSD filesystem
umsdos UNIX-like filesystem that resides on top of MS-DOS
vfat Windows 95 filesystem (FAT32)
xfs High-performance 64-bit journaling filesystem
Any hard drive that a UNIX server accesses must be formatted using one of the filesystem
types listed in Table 1-1.
The Linux kernel interfaces with each filesystem using the virtual file system (VFS), which
provides a standard interface for the kernel to communicate with any type of filesystem.
VFS caches information in memory as each filesystem is mounted and used.
The GNU Utilities
Besides having a kernel to control hardware devices, a computer operating system needs
utilities to perform standard functions, such as controlling files and programs. Although
Linus Torvalds created the Linux system kernel, he had no system utilities to run on it.
Fortunately for him, at the same time he was working, a group of people were working
together on the Internet trying to develop a standard set of computer system utilities that
mimicked the popular UNIX operating system.
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