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FileSystems

Although it would be nice if we could store endless bits of information in thin air, at some point we have to have a file system on a disk somewhere storing our data. (note to futurists: please keep trying for the storage-in-thin-air deal... we'd really appreciate it!)

Currently, there are several different types of File Systems which can store files of data.

Basic File Systems -- simple filesystems that people maintain on personal machines

• Ext2FileSystem
• Ext3FileSystem
• HFS
• FAT, FAT32
• DFS

Networked File Systems -- to allow multiple machines to "share" data stored on network drives

• NFS -- one of the oldest, with some limitations
• AFS -- slightly different from NFS, more difficult to setup and use
• CodaFileSystem -- based on AFS, has lots of neat features, not widely used (yet).

RobinsonTryon - 09 Feb 2003