There are several types of filesystems available for Linux. Each filesystem type has its own format and set of characteristics (such as filename length, maximum file size, and so on). Linux also supports several ``third-party'' filesystem types such as the MS-DOS filesystem.
The most commonly used filesystem type is the Second Extended Filesystem, or ext2fs. The ext2fs is one of the most efficient and flexible filesystems; it allows filenames up to 256 characters and filesystem sizes of up to 4 terabytes. In Chapter 4, we'll discuss the various filesystem types available for Linux. Initially, however, we suggest that you use the extfs filesystem.
To create an ext2fs filesystem, use the command
where <partition> is the name of the partition, and <size> is the size of the partition in blocks. For example, to create a 82080-block filesystem on /dev/hda2, use the commandmke2fs -c <partition> <size>
If you're using multiple filesystems for Linux, you'll need to use the appropriate mke2fs command for each filesystem.# mke2fs -c /dev/hda2 82080
If you have encountered any problems at this point, see Section 2.5 at the end of this chapter.