File System Wars
8 hours ago
- #filesystems
- #security
- #operating systems
- The post discusses various filesystems, focusing on their key features and design philosophies, particularly in the context of security and operational tradeoffs.
- It highlights the problem of crash consistency and outlines solutions like journaling (e.g., NTFS, ext4), soft updates (e.g., FFS), and copy-on-write (e.g., ZFS, APFS).
- Detailed overview of filesystems includes: FFS/FFS2 (emphasizes simplicity and reliability with cylinder groups and soft updates), BFS (innovative with metadata querying but minimal security), NTFS (enterprise-focused with ACLs and journaling), ext4 (evolutionary, journal-based, Linux default), ZFS (pooled storage, CoW, data integrity with checksums and self-healing), and APFS (CoW, encrypted by default, container model for Apple devices).
- APFS is positioned as a modern filesystem integral to Apple's security model, featuring native encryption, snapshots, and tight integration with hardware like Secure Enclave.
- The post concludes by comparing filesystems across features like snapshots, encryption, and portability, and sets the stage for a follow-up on Apple's defense mechanisms.