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Xref: sserve comp.os.linux:30945 comp.os.386bsd.questions:995 Newsgroups: comp.os.linux,comp.os.386bsd.questions Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!constellation!osuunx.ucc.okstate.edu!moe.ksu.ksu.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!news.tele.fi!news.funet.fi!hydra!klaava!wirzeniu From: wirzeniu@klaava.Helsinki.FI (Lars Wirzenius) Subject: Re: 386bsd, linux: which runs more out of the box? Message-ID: <1993Mar24.094442.21861@klaava.Helsinki.FI> Organization: University of Helsinki References: <CGD.93Mar23030821@erewhon.CS.Berkeley.EDU> <hwr.732890376@snert.ka.sub.org> <C4D87B.Au3@chinet.chi.il.us> Date: Wed, 24 Mar 1993 09:44:42 GMT Lines: 30 randy@chinet.chi.il.us (Randy Suess) writes: > I was under the impression that linux also had something > funky about the maximum size of file system partitions. > Something like 40 megs? Or is that old hat? The Minix filesystem (used by Linus since he started development under Minix) has a maximum filesystem (ergo also partition) size of 64 MB. The Minix fs also has filenames that are max 14 chars, doesn't store ctime and atime, and has a few other such stupidities as well. These stupidities are understandable in Minix, it being an educational thing. They not so nice for Linux, but thankfully, we have other filesystems as well, called efs, e2fs, and xfs. These all have long filenames and allow bigger filesystems. e2fs and xfs are newish, efs is older (e2fs is a newer version of efs). They are stable, although at least some people seem to have problems with them (I say stable, since I haven't had a fs related problem for months, and I use efs exclusively). The Minix fs will sooner or later be surpassed by the others as the main fs for Linux (which doesn't mean that the Minix fs code will be thrown out of the kernel), but for the time being, it is the oldest and most stable one, and that's why it has the status of being the primary fs. Well, actually I think that almost all people use something else and few people are making new partitions with Minix fs. Also, the kernel itself has no preferences about the filesystems, it treats them all as equals. -- Lars.Wirzenius@helsinki.fi (finger wirzeniu@klaava.helsinki.fi) MS-DOS, you can't live with it, you can live without it.