Operating System File System

ext4 (Fourth Extended Filesystem)

• Developed By: Linux community

• Key Features:

  • Supports large volumes (up to 1 exabyte) and large files (up to 16 terabytes).

  • Extents (instead of traditional block mapping) for improved performance.

  • Journaling for improved reliability.

  • Backward compatibility with ext3 and ext2.

• Typical Use Cases:

  • General-purpose use on Linux systems.

  • Widely used in personal computers and servers.

NTFS (New Technology File System)

• Developed By: Microsoft

• Key Features:

  • Support for large volumes and files.

  • Advanced data structures to improve performance, reliability, and disk space utilization.

  • File-level encryption, disk quotas, and sparse file support.

  • Journaling and support for file metadata.

• Typical Use Cases:

  • Default file system for Windows operating systems.

  • Suitable for both personal and enterprise environments.

FAT32 (File Allocation Table 32)

• Developed By: Microsoft

• Key Features:

  • Simple and widely compatible with many operating systems and devices.

  • Maximum file size of 4 GB and maximum volume size of 8 TB.

  • Lacks advanced features like journaling and encryption.

• Typical Use Cases:

  • Removable storage devices like USB flash drives and SD cards.

  • Compatibility across different operating systems and devices.

Btrfs (B-Tree File System)

• Developed By: Oracle Corporation and community contributors

• Key Features:

  • Copy-on-write mechanism for data integrity and efficient snapshots.

  • Subvolumes and snapshots for flexible storage management.

  • Built-in RAID support and data deduplication.

  • Dynamic inode allocation and checksums for data and metadata.

• Typical Use Cases:

  • Linux systems, particularly in server and enterprise environments.

  • Advanced data management scenarios requiring snapshots and replication.

ZFS (Zettabyte File System)

• Developed By: Sun Microsystems (now maintained by the OpenZFS community)

• Key Features:

  • High storage capacity (zettabyte scale) and support for large files.

  • Advanced features like data integrity verification, compression, deduplication, and snapshots.

  • Integrated volume management.

  • RAID-Z for reliable and efficient redundancy.

• Typical Use Cases:

  • Enterprise storage systems and data centers.

  • Network-attached storage (NAS) solutions and cloud storage.

exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table)

• Developed By: Microsoft

• Key Features:

  • Overcomes the 4 GB file size limit of FAT32.

  • Designed for flash drives with large file support.

  • Lacks journaling and advanced security features.

• Typical Use Cases:

  • Removable storage devices, especially where large file support is needed.

  • Cross-platform compatibility.

HFS+ (Hierarchical File System Plus)

• Developed By: Apple Inc.

• Key Features:

  • Used by macOS for many years (now largely replaced by APFS).

  • Supports large files and volumes.

  • Journaling for improved reliability.

  • File system compression and hard links.

• Typical Use Cases:

  • macOS systems (older versions).

  • External drives formatted for macOS compatibility.

APFS (Apple File System)

• Developed By: Apple Inc.

• Key Features:

  • Designed for macOS, iOS, tvOS, and watchOS.

  • Strong encryption, space sharing, and fast directory sizing.

  • Efficient snapshots and clones.

  • Optimization for flash and SSD storage.

• Typical Use Cases:

  • All modern Apple devices.

  • High-performance and high-reliability storage needs.

XFS

• Developed By: Silicon Graphics International (SGI)

• Key Features:

  • High performance and scalability.

  • Support for large files and volumes.

  • Journaling for data consistency.

  • Efficient handling of parallel I/O.

• Typical Use Cases:

  • Enterprise-level storage systems.

  • High-performance computing environments.

ReiserFS

• Developed By: Namesys

• Key Features:

  • Efficient storage of small files.

  • Journaling for improved reliability.

  • Dynamic inode allocation.

• Typical Use Cases:

  • Linux systems, especially those needing efficient small file handling (though now largely replaced by other filesystems).

UFS (Unix File System)

• Developed By: Various, including the University of California, Berkeley

• Key Features:

  • Used in many Unix-like operating systems.

  • Support for large volumes and files.

  • Journaling (in UFS2) and file system snapshots.

• Typical Use Cases:

  • BSD systems and other Unix-like operating systems.

JFS (Journaled File System)

• Developed By: IBM

• Key Features:

  • High performance and reliability.

  • Journaling for fast recovery.

  • Efficient handling of large files and volumes.

• Typical Use Cases:

  • Linux systems, particularly in enterprise environments needing robust journaling.

Each of these file systems has its strengths and is suited for different scenarios. Choosing the right file system depends on the specific requirements of your use case, including the operating system, performance needs, data integrity requirements, and compatibility considerations.