File System: ext3

File System: ext3

The ext3 file system is an updated version of ext2. In fact, ext3 stands for “Third Extended File System.” The two are so similar that most of the file system utilities used by ext2 are also used by ext3. You can easily upgrade ext2 file systems to ext3. You can even downgrade an ext3 file system to ext2.However, the ext3 file system offers one key advantage that makes it highly preferable over ext2: journaling.



Before committing a transaction to the hard disk drive, the ext3 file system records the transaction to a journal and marks it as incomplete. After the disk transaction is complete, the ext3 file system marks the transaction as complete in the journal. By doing this, the ext3 file system can keep a log (a journal) of the most recent file transactions and whether or not they were actually completed.