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From: michaelv@MindBender.HeadCandy.com (Michael L. VanLoon)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc
Subject: Re: NetBSD Filesystems
Date: 29 Jul 1995 07:53:59 GMT
Organization: HeadCandy Associates... Sweets for the lobes.
Lines: 70
Message-ID: <MICHAELV.95Jul29005359@MindBender.HeadCandy.com>
References: <1995Jul26.123455.28242@lssec.bt.co.uk>
NNTP-Posting-Host: mindbender.seanet.com
In-reply-to: bwheeler@lssec.bt.co.uk's message of 26 Jul 95 13:34:55 GMT
In article <1995Jul26.123455.28242@lssec.bt.co.uk> bwheeler@lssec.bt.co.uk (Ben/Jammin Wheeler) writes:
Here are my questions:
Does NetBSD only have its own ``proprietary'' filesystem?
No, it uses a standard BSD FFS (Fast FileSystem). It could be
considered "proprietary" in the sense that nothing DOS-ish will read
it, nor will Linux (though that's their own prejudice).
Is this the same across all platforms? (ie, if I make a floppy with a NetBSD FS
on it on a x86, will it be readable on a Sparc?)
Maybe. I believe the current 4.4 FFS in NetBSD is a superset of what
the Sparc understands. Many of the commercial unix systems use a
derivative of the 4.2 FFS (SunOS, DEC Ultrix, etc....). However,
almost every vender has "enhanced" their version in subtle but
slightly incompatible ways.
Additionally, filesystems are not byte-order protected. A machine
which has a different byte-order from the one where the filesystem was
created would see only a mess. Machine word sizes might also make a
difference. In general, this is not a safe thing to do.
On the other hand, as far as floppies go, you can just dump something
onto it with tar, and practically any unix can read it. Or, make it a
DOS floppy and use either mtools (on any platform), or BSD's ability
to mount a DOS partition as a "native" mount.
Is there any support for other filesystems, specifically MS-DOG FAT, Minix, Linux
Ext2, Linux Xiafs?
NetBSD will let you mount a DOS partition read/write for import/export
purposes, but I don't believe you can actually run the system off a
DOS partition. It does not understand Linux "proprietary"
filesystems. Though someone some day may get the urge to write the
code to make that possible. Most likely it would be for compatibility
import/export purposes also, since there is nothing inherently better
about the Linux filesystems vs. BSD 4.4 FFS (nor inherently worse).
Some say the Linux filesystem isn't quite as robust or well-tested as
FFS, but the Linux people deny that vehemently.
The reason for this is that I'd like to try NetBSD alongside Linux on my machine,
but have them share the same partition and filesystem (but obviously putting
NetBSD binaries and libs in a different place to Linux binaries and libs!) If
NetBSD only supports its own little filesystem, presumably this becomes
impossible.
NetBSD only "supports its own little filesystem" in the same way Linux
only "supports its own little filesystem". The difference being that
the NetBSD "proprietary" fs is a derivative of one of the most
standard filesystems in unix. The Linux folks, on the other hand,
have taken a religious position that FFS is not good enough for them,
written their own proprietary fs, and refuse to write a true FFS for
Linux, last I heard. For all intents and purposes, both filesystems
are pretty much functionally equivalent.
Bottom line: yes, will probably have to reformat the drive for each
system. However, both can read tar'd floppies, so you don't
necessarily have to lose all your data.
Most of what I've just said also applies to FreeBSD fs vs. Linux.
--
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Michael L. VanLoon michaelv@HeadCandy.com
--< Free your mind and your machine -- NetBSD free un*x >--
NetBSD working ports: 386+PC, Mac, Amiga, HP300, Sun3, Sun4, PC532,
DEC pmax (MIPS R2k/3k), DEC/AXP (Alpha)
NetBSD ports in progress: VAX and others...
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