File Systems

[Thorny]

On Sat, 28 Mar 2009 06:51:26 -0600, Karl F. Larsen posted:

>     I have loaded Jaunty Beta twice, and have done a full update on this
> computers Jaunty. All is fine, but I was stopped 2 times because the
> loader was going to use the ext2 file system, but I wanted the ext3 file
> system and found that and both are using it.
> 
>     But I noted there is now a ext4 file system. Does anyone know why I
> should use ext4 :-)
> 

Karl, the simple answer to your question is that if *you* don't know of a
reason to use ext4 then you don't need to use it. And I am not trying to
be snarky with that comment.

A longer answer would mention that different filesystems have somewhat
different features and strengths and/or weaknesses and a system admin
selects which one to use based on how the system is going to be used and
which filesystem best suits those needs. You're not just limited to the
ext(x) line either, there are also ReiserFS, XFS, JFS, etcetera.

So, only you can determine what will work best for you and your situation.
Questions like yours often turn into "religious wars" as people argue back
and forth about their personal favourite and, in my opinion, that usually
is unproductive for a list. Now, if you want to research a bit and ask a
specific question about a particular system, then that might be productive
and get you useful answers. It always a wise approach to a question.

Here are some links to get you started:
http://kernelnewbies.org/Ext4
http://ext4.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/Frequently_Asked_Questions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_file_systems