Cross-OS File System That Sucks Less?

An anonymous reader writes "I recently got an external hard disk with USB 2.0/Firewire/Firewire 800/eSATA to be used for backup and file exchange — my desktop runs Linux (with a Windows partition for games but no data worth saving), and the laptop is a MacBook Pro. So the question popped up: what kind of filesystem is best for this kind of situation? Is there a filesystem that works well under Linux, MacOS X, and Windows? Linux has HFS+ support but apparently doesn't support journaling and there's also an issue with the case-insensitivity of HFS+. Are we stuck with crummy VFAT forever or are there efforts underway to bring a modern filesystem (I'm thinking something like ZFS, BeFS, or XFS) to all platforms? Or are there other clever solutions like storing ISO images and loop-mounting those?"

Comments

Shared storage, not shared drive

[zzatz]

Trying to use a filesystem across multiple platforms is painful. That's a clue that you're tackling the wrong problem. You don't need to share filesystems, you need to share files. Different problem with different solutions.

I set up an old PC with Linux to solve many needs. NFS and Samba provide a common pool of storage for every OS that I use. Since setting that up, I haven't ever though about shared partitions. They aren't needed.

Linux and Samba worked for me, but that's not the only solution. A NAS box might work better for you. The point is that you need shared storage, not a shared drive. Every OS supports network storage. Every OS supports backups across the network.

Re:You're not very smart, are you?

[Enderandrew]

It may turn out that Hans Reiser is guilty. However, he is innocent until found guilty. And if he is guilty, that doesn't taint everything he ever did. That is like saying Germany should have recounted all the construction, development and wealth of the Hitler era. If you drive on any part of the autobahn constructed during his reign, then clearly you must be a nazi, right?

So, please drop the trolling and stop calling it MurdererFS. It is an insult to the many employees of NameSys who developed the code, and continue to do so today. Not to mention, it would certainly be an unfair accusation if Reiser is acquitted.