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OS File System Comparison

A file system is a compilation of functions that facilitate the reading, writing and executing of files in directories, including how to reference files and directories. File systems change the usability and stability of an operating system and its programs (utilities and applications). When people talk about a Windows-type operating system they assume it was built on the file systems "ntfs3" or "ntfs5". When people talk about a Linux-type operating system they assume it was built on the file systems "ext2", "ext3" or "ext4"; unless stated otherwise. When people talk about a BSD-type operating system they assume it was built on "ufs" or "ufs2". When people talk about a Solaris-type operating system they assume it was built on "ufs" or "zfs". Here's a not-so interesting comparison:

File System OS Type Max. File Max. Vol. Permissions Encryption Compression Recoverable
BtrFS Linux 8-16 EiB 16 EiB POSIX Yes Yes Yes
EXT2 Linux, BSD 16 GB - 2 TB 2-32 TB POSIX, SVR4 No No Yes
EXT3 Linux, BSD 16 GiB - 2 TiB 2-16 TiB POSIX, SVR4 No No No
EXT4 Linux, BSD 16 TiB 1 EB POSIX, SVR4 No No No
FAT32 Windows, Linux 4 GB 4 GB None No No Yes
HFS Linux, Mac OSX 2 GB 2 TB None, ACL No No No
HFS+ Linux, Mac OSX 8 EB 8 EB POSIX Yes Yes Yes
JFS Linux, Unix 4 PB 32 PB SVR4 No Yes No
NTFS3 Windows, Linux, BSD 2-16 TB 4 GiB None, ACL Yes Yes Yes
NTFS5 Windows 16 TB 64-256 TB ACL Yes Yes No
ReiserFS Linux, BSD 8 TiB - 1 EiB 16 TiB POSIX, SVR4 No No No
UFS2 BSD, Solaris 8 EB 8 EB SVR4 No No Yes
XFS Linux, Unix 8 EiB 16 EiB SVR4 No No No
ZFS BSD, Solaris 16 EB 16 EB SVR4 Yes Yes Yes

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