Best File system thats compatible with linux and windows?

[PingSpike]

I'm thinking of trying out linux, probably ubuntu on my machine.

I'm planning to add one of those removable hard drive bays to my rig, and have a linux drive and an XP drive to swap in and out. I was going to leave the original drive in the machine and use it as a common files drive. I'd like to install pretty much everything besides the OS on it if possible.

My question is...what file system should I use to do this? FAT32? NTFS can't be read by linux right?

 

[xcript]

FAT32

NTFS can be read fine. It can also be written to using Captive NTFS, but it's pretty damn slow.

 

[Nothinman]

Supposedly NTFS-3g works pretty well now, I can't speak from experience though. But FAT is the safer option, sadly.

 

[hasu]

I am using NTFS-3g in Ubuntu variations. It works just perfect.
http://ntfs3g.org/
http://www.ntfs-3g.org/performance.html

In KUbuntu (which I am using right now), I copied about 8GB of data (22000 files in 2100 folders ) back and forth between NTFS & ext3 in the same hard disk using Konqueror (GUI),
while machine was under regular use. Most of the time the transfer rate was roughly the same -- with end results (may not represent ideal benchmarking figures since it was not an ideal test environment)

Read from NTFS write to ext3: 7.8 MB/s
Read from ext3 write to NTFS: 4.5 MB/s

 

[SleepWalkerX]

Haven't run into a bug yet with ntfs-3g. Works well and seems very stable.

 

[drag]

The ideal solution for this problem is to get a old PC and use it as a file server...

Both operating systems can read/write perfectly well to a SMB share. Anything like a 400mhz computer with 128 megs of RAM would work fine. Setup a 'server' version of Ubuntu or whatever you like without a GUI and manage it over a remote terminal using ssh (putty is a nice client for Windows). Then maybe a web interface like Webmin, so you can have a GUI over your browser. Also there is dedicated distributions specificly setup for a Linux file servers.

Otherwise i suppose NTFS-3g would work out pretty well.
Fat32 is probably a good way to go if you don't have large files. Remember those FAT limitations.

 

[Goosemaster]

ext3 + SMB

 

[silverpig]

ext3. I'm pretty sure you can get a driver for it for windows.

 

[xcript]

Ahh nice, I didn't realise NTFS-3G was as stable as it is now. :thumbsup:

Still not sure I'd trust it.

 

[drag]

You can do your own tests though. Format something NTFS from Windows, take it to Linux then stress test it.

there are several good file system benchmarks you can use such as Bonnie++ or Iozone. Keep track of memory, do repeated tests. Write files and do most anything you can as well as having it mounted for extended periods of time.

It wouldn't take long to expose any weakness. It's not perfect, but it's reassuring.

 

[Brazen]

Originally posted by: silverpig
ext3. I'm pretty sure you can get a driver for it for windows.

There are a few free Ext2/3 drivers for Windows, however, they are not nearly as good as ntfs-3g.

 

[SoundTheSurrender]

NTFS 3g

 

[Cogman]

I looked into this a while ago and I think it is still true. ext2 is the only Linux file system that has a driver that windows can use for reading and writing (I wish there where others). IMO it would probably be the best option for speed and reliability. On the other hand, FAT32 (and did I miss something with NTFS? has linux compatibility improved a lot with it?) is probably the best option for a file system that can be used by both windows and linux. By using a common filesystem, you suffer either way, and I would not really recommend it. If you need to transfer files between the two I would think a cheap flash drive would be the best option. Then Set windows up on an NTFS drive and linux on a XFS or Reiser4 (fast, but the creator is on trial right now sadly), or even ext3 file system. Even then, it is possible to transfer files from windows to linux with the kernels NTFS driver. Just not visa versa

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: drag
The ideal solution for this problem is to get a old PC and use it as a file server...

Using ...

Originally posted by: Goosemaster
ext3 + SMB

FTW!

- M4H

 

[Noema]

Originally posted by: drag
The ideal solution for this problem is to get a old PC and use it as a file server...

Both operating systems can read/write perfectly well to a SMB share. Anything like a 400mhz computer with 128 megs of RAM would work fine. Setup a 'server' version of Ubuntu or whatever you like without a GUI and manage it over a remote terminal using ssh (putty is a nice client for Windows). Then maybe a web interface like Webmin, so you can have a GUI over your browser. Also there is dedicated distributions specificly setup for a Linux file servers.

Otherwise i suppose NTFS-3g would work out pretty well.
Fat32 is probably a good way to go if you don't have large files. Remember those FAT limitations.

This is a great idea. I'm planning on using an old P4 my parents still use as a Linux file server as soon as have some time.