1.8 - Filesystems

Question 1

File systems

Answer 1

• Before data can be written to the partition,
  it must be formatted
  – Build the foundation
• Operating systems expect data to be written
  in a particular format
  – FAT32 and NTFS are popular
• Many operating systems can read
  (and perhaps write) multiple file system types
  – FAT, FAT32, NTFS, exFAT, etc.

Question 2

FAT

Answer 2

• FAT - File Allocation Table
  – One of the first PC-based file systems (circa 1980)
• FAT32 - File Allocation Table
  – Larger (2 terabyte) volume sizes
  – Maximum file size of 4 gigabytes
• exFAT - Extended File Allocation Table
  – Microsoft flash drive file system
  – Files can be larger than 4 gigabytes
  – Compatible across many operating systems
  – Windows, Linux, macOS

Question 3

NTFS

Answer 3

• NTFS – NT File System
  – Extensive improvements over FAT32
  – Quotas, file compression, encryption, symbolic links,
  large file support, security, recoverability
• Not very compatible across operating systems
  – Many OSes will read NTFS (but not write)
  – Some have limited write functionality to
  an NTFS file system

Question 4

Other file systems

Answer 4

• ext3 - Third extended file system
  – Commonly used by the Linux OS
• ext4 - Fourth extended file system
  – An update to ext3
  – Commonly seen in Linux and Android OS

Question 5

APFS

Answer 5

• Apple File System (APFS)
  – Added to macOS High Sierra (10.12.4)
  – Also included with iOS and iPadOS
• Optimized for solid-state storage
  – Encryption, snapshots, increased data integrity