Linux File Systems: Ext2 vs Ext3 vs Ext4

ext2, ext3 and ext4 are all filesystems created for Linux. This article explains the following:

High level difference between these filesystems.

How to create these filesystems.

How to convert from one filesystem type to another.

Ext2

Ext2 stands for second extended file system.

It was introduced in 1993. Developed by Rmy Card.

This was developed to overcome the limitation of the original ext file system.

Ext2 does not have journaling feature.

On flash drives, usb drives, ext2 is recommended, as it doesnt need to do the over head
of journaling.

Maximum individual file size can be from 16 GB to 2 TB

Overall ext2 file system size can be from 2 TB to 32 TB

Ext3

Ext3 stands for third extended file system.

It was introduced in 2001. Developed by Stephen Tweedie.

Starting from Linux Kernel 2.4.15 ext3 was available.

The main benefit of ext3 is that it allows journaling.

Journaling has a dedicated area in the file system, where all the changes are tracked.
When the system crashes, the possibility of file system corruption is less because of
journaling.

Maximum individual file size can be from 16 GB to 2 TB

Overall ext3 file system size can be from 2 TB to 32 TB

There are three types of journaling available in ext3 file system.

Journal Metadata and content are saved in the journal.

Ordered Only metadata is saved in the journal. Metadata are journaled only after
writing the content to disk. This is the default.

Writeback Only metadata is saved in the journal. Metadata might be journaled either
before or after the content is written to the disk.

You can convert a ext2 file system to ext3 file system directly (without backup/restore).

Ext4

Ext4 stands for fourth extended file system.

It was introduced in 2008.

Starting from Linux Kernel 2.6.19 ext4 was available.

Supports huge individual file size and overall file system size.

Maximum individual file size can be from 16 GB to 16 TB

Overall maximum ext4 file system size is 1 EB (exabyte). 1 EB = 1024 PB (petabyte). 1 PB

= 1024 TB (terabyte).

Directory can contain a maximum of 64,000 subdirectories (as opposed to 32,000 in ext3)

You can also mount an existing ext3 fs as ext4 fs (without having to upgrade it).

Several other new features are introduced in ext4: multiblock allocation, delayed allocation,
journal checksum. fast fsck, etc. All you need to know is that these new features have
improved the performance and reliability of the filesystem when compared to ext3.

In ext4, you also have the option of turning the journaling feature off.

NAME
filesystems - Linux file-system types: minix, ext, ext2, ext3, ext4,
Reiserfs, XFS, JFS, xia, msdos, umsdos, vfat, ntfs, proc, nfs, iso9660,
hpfs, sysv, smb, ncpfs

DESCRIPTION
When, as is customary, the proc file system is mounted on /proc, you
can find in the file /proc/filesystems which file systems your kernel
currently supports. If you need a currently unsupported one, insert
the corresponding module or recompile the kernel.
In order to use a file system, you have to mount it; see mount(8).
Below a short description of a few of the available file systems.
minix

is the file system used in the Minix operating system, the

first to run under Linux. It has a number of shortcomings: a
64MB partition size limit, short filenames, a single
timestamp, etc. It remains useful for floppies and RAM
disks.

ext

is an elaborate extension of the minix file system. It has

been completely superseded by the second version of the
extended file system (ext2) and has been removed from the
kernel (in 2.1.21).

ext2

is the high performance disk file system used by Linux for

fixed disks as well as removable media. The second extended
file system was designed as an extension of the extended file
system (ext). ext2 offers the best performance (in terms of
speed and CPU usage) of the file systems supported under
Linux.

ext3

is a journaling version of the ext2 file system. It is easy

to switch back and forth between ext2 and ext3.

ext4

is a set of upgrades to ext3 including substantial

performance and reliability enhancements, plus large
increases in volume, file, and directory size limits.

Reiserfs is a journaling file system, designed by Hans Reiser, that

was integrated into Linux in kernel 2.4.1.
XFS

is a journaling file system, developed by SGI, that was

integrated into Linux in kernel 2.4.20.

JFS

is a journaling file system, developed by IBM, that was

integrated into Linux in kernel 2.4.24.

xiafs

was designed and implemented to be a stable, safe file system

by extending the Minix file system code. It provides the
basic most requested features without undue complexity. The
xia file system is no longer actively developed or
maintained. It was removed from the kernel in 2.1.21.

msdos is the file system used by DOS, Windows, and some OS/2
computers. msdos filenames can be no longer than 8
characters, followed by an optional period and 3 character
extension.
umsdos is an extended DOS file system used by Linux. It adds
capability for long filenames, UID/GID, POSIX permissions,
and special files (devices, named pipes, etc.) under the DOS
file system, without sacrificing compatibility with DOS.
vfat

is an extended DOS file system used by Microsoft Windows95

and Windows NT. VFAT adds the capability to use long
filenames under the MSDOS file system.

ntfs

replaces Microsoft Window's FAT file systems (VFAT, FAT32).

It has reliability, performance, and space-utilization
enhancements plus features like ACLs, journaling, encryption,
and so on.

proc

is a pseudo file system which is used as an interface to

kernel data structures rather than reading and interpreting
/dev/kmem. In particular, its files do not take disk space.
See proc(5).

iso9660 is a CD-ROM file system type conforming to the ISO 9660

standard.
High Sierra
Linux supports High Sierra, the precursor to the ISO
9660 standard for CD-ROM file systems. It is
automatically recognized within the iso9660 filesystem support under Linux.
Rock Ridge
Linux also supports the System Use Sharing Protocol
records specified by the Rock Ridge Interchange
Protocol. They are used to further describe the files
in the iso9660 file system to a Unix host, and provide
information such as long filenames, UID/GID, POSIX
permissions, and devices. It is automatically
recognized within the iso9660 file-system support
under Linux.
hpfs

is the High Performance Filesystem, used in OS/2. This file

system is read-only under Linux due to the lack of available
documentation.

sysv

is an implementation of the SystemV/Coherent file system for

Linux. It implements all of Xenix FS, SystemV/386 FS, and
Coherent FS.

nfs

is the network file system used to access disks located on

remote computers.

smb

is a network file system that supports the SMB protocol, used

by Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT, and Lan Manager.
To use smb fs, you need a special mount program, which can be
found in the ksmbfs package, found at
ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/Filesystems/smbfs.

ncpfs

is a network file system that supports the NCP protocol, used

by Novell NetWare.
To use ncpfs, you need special programs, which can be found
at ftp://linux01.gwdg.de/pub/ncpfs.