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Which FS for Win/Linux server?

 
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JustSomeGeek



Joined: Tue May 01, 2012 2:07 pm
Posts: 19

PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2012 2:25 pm    Post subject: Which FS for Win/Linux server? Reply with quote

Hi folks,

New to the mag, and not used Linux much since my 68k days, so apologies in advance for the n00b questions!

I run Win SBS2008R2 at home but i am planning to change to a Linux (maybe BSD?) distro ASAP.

I will be getting a new 3 or 4TB drive for my large files (ISOs, DVD/BR rips, VMs etc).

I want to fit the drive while still running Win 2008 and move all my stuff over.

I need read/write access from Win and Linux on the server and over the network, especially if it all goes horribly wrong and i have to revert to Win for a while.

So far, i've come up with Ext3 using Ext2fsd, but XFS seems better suited to the big drive and large files. I can't seem to find a Win-side solution to access it though.

Any advice?

Thanks! Smile
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nelz
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Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2005 12:52 pm
Posts: 8002
Location: Warrington, UK

PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2012 3:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ext4 is also good for large files. If the Windows driver doesn't support ext4, use ext3 to start with because it is easy to convert ext3 to ext4 with no downtime once you are happy to commit to using it with Linux only.
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Dutch_Master
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Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2007 2:49 am
Posts: 2354

PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2012 5:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd suggest to switch OS first, then add a new drive. Linux can readily read to Win-OS filesystems, but the other way round is mostly fraught with errors due to the failure on Win-OS part to understand the permissions Unix systems (that Linux inherited) use.

If you want to dual-boot (why, I wonder... Wink) then use the new disk to install Linux, safeguarding your Win-OS install. Once you're satisfied with Linux, remove the Win-OS partition and copy the Linux install over with a Live CD (won't work with a running Linux system) to the now empty space. When done, the original Linux partition can then be reused for data Smile
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wyliecoyoteuk
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Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 11:41 pm
Posts: 3359
Location: Birmingham, UK

PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2012 6:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You could always run it as a headless KVM server, with the windows OS as a guest
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JustSomeGeek



Joined: Tue May 01, 2012 2:07 pm
Posts: 19

PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2012 8:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nelz wrote:
Ext4 is also good for large files. If the Windows driver doesn't support ext4, use ext3 to start with because it is easy to convert ext3 to ext4 with no downtime once you are happy to commit to using it with Linux only.


Thanks Nelz. I'll have a play with ext2fsd and see if it's happy with ext3. It seems this is my best option so far.
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JustSomeGeek



Joined: Tue May 01, 2012 2:07 pm
Posts: 19

PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2012 8:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dutch_Master wrote:
I'd suggest to switch OS first, then add a new drive. Linux can readily read to Win-OS filesystems, but the other way round is mostly fraught with errors due to the failure on Win-OS part to understand the permissions Unix systems (that Linux inherited) use.

If you want to dual-boot (why, I wonder... Wink) then use the new disk to install Linux, safeguarding your Win-OS install. Once you're satisfied with Linux, remove the Win-OS partition and copy the Linux install over with a Live CD (won't work with a running Linux system) to the now empty space. When done, the original Linux partition can then be reused for data Smile


Ideally i would switch first, but i need the drive in yesterday. Switching the OS could take weeks or months as i can only do it a couple of hours a day and have to also find a (free!) replacement for Exchange/Outlook etc. and implement it. So i need run Win until the rest is changed over too. :-/

Linux will be installed on it's own new SSD and the Win HDD removed completely when i've migrated.
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JustSomeGeek



Joined: Tue May 01, 2012 2:07 pm
Posts: 19

PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2012 8:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

wyliecoyoteuk wrote:
You could always run it as a headless KVM server, with the windows OS as a guest


By the time i am confident enough to run VMs under Linux/BSD i should be long past the stage of needing the Win crutch. It's the reliance on Win as the OS on the physical machine that i need to break first. I will definately keep Win Server as the Honeypot VM though. Smile
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