File systems are a critical part of any operating system, as they provide the structure and logic needed to store, retrieve, and manage data on computer storage devices. At a basic level, a file system defines how data is arranged and accessed on a storage device. But file systems also include important functions like access control, scaling, redundancy, and file protection. Without a properly designed file system, an operating system would not be able to reliably access data as needed.
In this article, we will provide an overview and comparison of some of the most widely used file systems today across various operating systems and devices. We will look at general-purpose file systems like NTFS, FAT32, HFS+, and ext4, as well as specialized file systems like APFS and XFS. Understanding the key differences between file systems can help explain why certain file systems are better suited for certain use cases and devices.
FAT32
The FAT32 file system was introduced with Windows 95 in August 1996 (Wikipedia). It was developed jointly by Microsoft and MS-DOS creator Seattle Computer Products as an upgrade over the older FAT16 file system. FAT32 was designed to overcome limitations with FAT16, including improving support for larger hard drives (Wondershare).
FAT32 became commonly used on Windows 95, 98, and Me operating systems. It offered advantages like backward compatibility with older FAT file systems. FAT32 also helped Windows 95 and 98 handle larger drives over 2 GB. However, FAT32 had a major disadvantage in its 4 GB file size limit. This made it unsuitable for very large drives or files. Still, FAT32’s high compatibility and ease of use made it the standard file system for many years on desktop PCs and consumer devices.
exFAT
exFAT was introduced in 2006 as an evolution of the older FAT32 file system. It was designed by Microsoft to be used on flash drives and other external storage devices where FAT32’s limitations become problematic. Unlike FAT32, exFAT lifts the 4 GB file size limit, allowing much larger files to be stored. The maximum volume size with exFAT is 128 PB, compared to 2 TB for FAT32. exFAT also uses less overhead than FAT32, making it more efficient for flash drives.
Some key advantages of exFAT over FAT32:
- No realistic file size limit – can store files over 4GB
- Faster at writing and deleting many small files due to less overhead
- Wide compatibility across operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux
However, exFAT lacks some features like journaling and permissions that more advanced file systems have. It also lacks built-in recovery tools. Overall, exFAT strikes a nice balance between compatibility and more modern features for use cases like flash drives.
NTFS
NTFS stands for “New Technology File System” and was first introduced with Windows NT 3.1 in 1993 (Source). It was designed by Microsoft as a more advanced and robust file system compared to FAT16 and FAT32. Some key features of NTFS include:
- Support for larger partition sizes – up to 16 exabytes
- Better security through access control lists and encryption
- Recovery tools like volume shadow copy for backups
- Compression to optimize disk space usage
A major strength of NTFS is its stability and reliability for storing large amounts of data securely. The permission system also allows more granular control over access. However, it is proprietary to Microsoft Windows systems only. Overall, NTFS offers important advantages for hard drives beyond basic data storage and retrieval (Source).
HFS+
HFS+, also known as Mac OS Extended, is a file system developed by Apple Inc. for use in macOS and other Apple operating systems. HFS+ was introduced in 1998 as a replacement for the original HFS file system used on early Macintosh computers [1].
HFS+ is the primary file system for macOS on Apple silicon and Intel-based Macs. It is also used on Apple iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad, as well as Apple TV. HFS+ allows macOS to store files in a hierarchical folder structure similar to NTFS and other file systems [2].
Some benefits of HFS+ include metadata support, faster lookups and storage compared to HFS, and journaling which improves data integrity [3]. However, HFS+ lacks some features found in more modern file systems. It does not have native encryption and has some performance limitations compared to APFS which is replacing it on newer Macs.
APFS
The Apple File System (APFS) is Apple’s proprietary file system first introduced in macOS High Sierra in 2017 to replace HFS+ [1][2]. APFS was designed to be optimized for flash/SSD storage and offers improvements over HFS+ like strong encryption, space sharing, snapshots, fast directory sizing, and improved file system fundamentals.
Some key advantages of APFS over HFS+ are [3]:
- Faster performance – APFS uses 64-bit architecture compared to HFS+’s 32-bit, allowing faster copying, moving, and mounting files.
- Better security – APFS supports full disk encryption compared to just file/folder encryption in HFS+.
- Space efficiency – APFS has cloning capabilities for space efficiency versus HFS+ copying.
- Scalability – APFS has no volume size limits like HFS+ does.
- Reliability – APFS has crash protection features and checksums for metadata.
APFS is used as the default file system on all Apple devices running iOS 10.3 or later, macOS High Sierra or later, tvOS 10.2 or later, and watchOS 3.2 or later.
ext4
The ext4 file system was introduced in October 2008 with the release of the Linux 2.6.28 kernel. It aims to be the successor to the widely used ext3 file system and is the default file system for many popular Linux distributions like Ubuntu and Debian [1].
Some key features of ext4 include [2]:
- Supports individual files up to 16TB and volumes up to 1EB
- Faster file system checking using delayed allocation and sequence transactions
- Faster and more reliable disk I/O through barriers and checksums
- Pre-allocation for continuous media files like large videos
- Backwards compatibility with ext3
The ext4 file system is well-suited for general purpose Linux desktop and server deployments. It offers good performance, reliability, and backwards compatibility while supporting very large volumes and files. The additional features in ext4 like extents and pre-allocation provide benefits for specific use cases like large multimedia files and databases [3].
XFS
XFS is a high-performance 64-bit journaling file system created by Silicon Graphics in the 1990s for their IRIX operating system [1]. It was later ported to Linux and is well-suited for applications that manage large files and directories.
Some key features and use cases for XFS include:
- High throughput for large files with concurrent read/write operations [2]
- Fast recovery after crashes using journaling
- Supports files up to 8 exabytes in size
- Efficiently handles small files with features like extents
- Ideal for media servers, video surveillance systems, etc that manage large multimedia files
XFS excels at parallel I/O throughput thanks to its design optimized for streaming large files. However, it does not perform as well with small random writes compared to other file systems. XFS also requires more RAM resources compared to ext3/ext4.
Btrfs
Btrfs (B-tree file system) is a modern copy-on-write file system for Linux developed starting in 2007 by multiple companies including Oracle, Red Hat, Fujitsu, Intel, and Facebook. Btrfs aims to provide advanced features focused on fault tolerance, repair, and ease of administration while still delivering high performance.
Some key features and benefits of Btrfs include:
- Copy-on-write – All data is stored on the disk in a copy-on-write fashion, meaning the original data is preserved when edits are made. This facilitates snapshots, backups, and integrity checking.
- Snapshots – Lightweight read-only snapshots can be created quickly and efficiently.
- RAID Support – Supports RAID 0, 1, 10 and RAID 5/6 like layouts for tolerance against failures.
- Self-healing – Btrfs is designed to detect errors and reconstruct damaged data using mirrored copies.
- Compression – Supports transparent compression to optimize storage space.
However, Btrfs is still considered experimental and not recommended for production systems. Some downsides and challenges include:
- Immaturity – Btrfs is newer than other Linux file systems and still under heavy development, so bugs and data loss issues may occur.
- Fragmentation – Btrfs is prone to suffering from fragmentation over time, hurting performance.
- No stable disk defragmenter – No built-in tool to defragment Btrfs filesystems.
Overall Btrfs offers advanced next-generation features but with the tradeoff of stability challenges common in newer file systems. It’s seen increasing adoption but still not recommended for mission critical data.
Sources:
https://docs.kernel.org/filesystems/btrfs.html
https://www.synology.com/dsm/Btrfs
Conclusion
The key differences between major file systems come down to factors like maximum file size, maximum volume size, file name length, and supported operating systems. FAT32 is an older file system with limitations like 4GB maximum file size, but it has very wide compatibility. NTFS is the preferred file system for Windows, with no realistic file size or volume size limits. ext4 is a reliable performer for Linux. APFS is optimized for macOS and SSDs. Choosing the right file system depends on your OS, storage device, performance needs, and whether you require compatibility across operating systems.
In summary:
- FAT32 is compatible with all major OSes but has limitations on file sizes and volume sizes.
- NTFS is designed for Windows and has few real limits.
- ext4 is reliable and well-tested for Linux.
- APFS is optimized for macOS and SSDs.
- exFAT can bridge between OSes better than FAT32 but lacks features of NTFS and ext4.
File systems like XFS, Btrfs, and ZFS offer advanced features for very large storage arrays and servers. HFS+ is the older Apple file system. In general, match your file system to your OS and be aware of size limitations if using FAT32.