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In computing, a file system or filesystem (often abbreviated to FS or fs) governs file organization and access. A local file system is a capability of an operating system that services the applications running on the same computer. A distributed file system is a protocol providing access between networked computers.
A file system provides a data storage service that allows applications to share mass storage. Without a file system, applications could access the storage in incompatible ways, leading to resource contention, data corruption, and data loss.
Many file system designs and implementations have various structures and features and various resulting characteristics such as speed, flexibility, security, size, and more.
Files systems have been developed for many types of storage devices, including hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), magnetic tapes, and optical discs.
A portion of the computer’s main memory can be set up as a RAM disk that serves as a storage device for a file system. File systems such as tmpfs can store files in virtual memory.
A virtual file system provides access to files that are either computed on request, called virtual files (see procfs and sysfs), or are mapping into another, backing storage.
File systems limit storable data capacity – generally driven by the typical size of storage devices at the time the file system is designed and anticipated into the foreseeable future.
Since storage sizes have increased at a near-exponential rate (see Moore’s law), newer storage devices often exceed existing file system limits within only a few years after introduction. This requires new file systems with ever-increasing capacity.
With higher capacity, the need for capabilities and therefore complexity increases as well. File system complexity typically varies proportionally with available storage capacity. Capacity issues aside, the file systems of early 1980s home computers with 50 KB to 512 KB of storage would not be a reasonable choice for modern storage systems with hundreds of gigabytes of capacity. Likewise, modern file systems would not be a reasonable choice for these early systems, since the complexity of modern file system structures would quickly consume the limited capacity of early storage systems.
A file system provides a data storage service that allows applications to share mass storage. Without a file system, applications could access the storage in incompatible ways, leading to resource contention, data corruption, and data loss.
Many file system designs and implementations have various structures and features and various resulting characteristics such as speed, flexibility, security, size, and more.
Files systems have been developed for many types of storage devices, including hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), magnetic tapes, and optical discs.
A portion of the computer’s main memory can be set up as a RAM disk that serves as a storage device for a file system. File systems such as tmpfs can store files in virtual memory.
A virtual file system provides access to files that are either computed on request, called virtual files (see procfs and sysfs), or are mapping into another, backing storage.
File systems limit storable data capacity – generally driven by the typical size of storage devices at the time the file system is designed and anticipated into the foreseeable future.
Since storage sizes have increased at a near-exponential rate (see Moore’s law), newer storage devices often exceed existing file system limits within only a few years after introduction. This requires new file systems with ever-increasing capacity.
With higher capacity, the need for capabilities and therefore complexity increases as well. File system complexity typically varies proportionally with available storage capacity. Capacity issues aside, the file systems of early 1980s home computers with 50 KB to 512 KB of storage would not be a reasonable choice for modern storage systems with hundreds of gigabytes of capacity. Likewise, modern file systems would not be a reasonable choice for these early systems, since the complexity of modern file system structures would quickly consume the limited capacity of early storage systems.
