ext2
ext2 (second extended filesystem) is an open source disk filesystem created for Linux, and the second version of the extended series of filesystems.
It is the tried and true Linux filesystem but doesn't have metadata journaling, which means that routine ext2 filesystem checks at startup time can be quite time-consuming. There is now quite a selection of newer-generation journaled filesystems that can be checked for consistency very quickly and are thus generally preferred over their non-journaled counterparts. Journaled filesystems prevent long delays when the system is booted and the filesystem happens to be in an inconsistent state.
Installation
Kernel
Activate the following kernel options for ext2 support:
File systems --->
<*> Second extended fs support
Support for optional ext2 features:
File systems --->
[*] Ext2 extended attributes
[*] Ext2 POSIX Access Control Lists
[*] Ext2 Security Labels
Option | Description |
---|---|
Ext2 extended attributes | Extended attributes are name:value pairs associated with inodes by the kernel or by users. See http://acl.bestbits.at/ |
Ext2 POSIX Access Control Lists | Posix Access Control Lists (ACLs) support permissions for users and groups beyond the owner/group/world scheme. See http://acl.bestbits.at/ |
Ext2 Security Labels | Enables an extended attribute handler for file security. |
Large drive support
When the system has large disks (2 TB or greater) and a 32-bit (x86) kernel is being used, the following option (CONFIG_LBDAF) must be enabled:
-*- Enable the block layer --->
[*] Support for large (2TB+) block devices and files
Use of ext4 filesystem driver
An alternative to the ext2 filesystem driver is using the ext4 filesystem code to access ext2 filesystems as well.
File systems --->
< > Second extended fs support
<*> The Extended 4 (ext4) filesystem
[*] Use ext4 for ext2 filesystems
[*] Ext4 POSIX Access Control Lists
[*] Ext4 Security Labels
The option "Use ext4 for ext2 filesystems" is not available when the ext2 filesystem driver "Second extended fs support" is enabled.
USE flags
The sys-fs/e2fsprogs package contains the utilities to work with the filesystem. In Gentoo Linux sys-fs/e2fsprogs is part of the system set and should be already installed on the system.
USE flags for sys-fs/e2fsprogs Standard EXT2/EXT3/EXT4 filesystem utilities
cron
|
Install e2scrub_all cron script |
fuse
|
Build fuse2fs, a FUSE file system client for ext2/ext3/ext4 file systems |
nls
|
Add Native Language Support (using gettext - GNU locale utilities) |
split-usr
|
Enable behavior to support maintaining /bin, /lib*, /sbin and /usr/sbin separately from /usr/bin and /usr/lib* |
static-libs
|
Build static versions of dynamic libraries as well |
test
|
Enable dependencies and/or preparations necessary to run tests (usually controlled by FEATURES=test but can be toggled independently) |
tools
|
Build extfs tools (mke2fs, e2fsck, tune2fs, etc.) |
Emerge
After setting the USE flag update the system so the changes take effect:
root #
emerge --ask --changed-use --deep @world
Usage
Creation
The mkfs.ext2 command irreversibly destroys any content of the partition it is told to format. Be sure to select the right partition!
To create an ext2 filesystem on the /dev/sda1 partition:
root #
mkfs.ext2 /dev/sda1
Please replace /dev/sda1 with the actual partition to format.
By default, 5% of available disk space is reserved for the root user. This is usually a good thing for the partition where the / directory is mounted, but it may be not desirable on other partitions. To lose reserve disk space for the root user use mkfs.ext2's -m 0
option:
root #
mkfs.ext2 -m 0 /dev/sda1
See also
- Ext3 — an open source disk filesystem created for Linux, and the third version of the extended series of filesystems.