Ext3 and Ext4: Which file system to install? - UbuntuTipsnTricks

As you may have noticed, you now have the option of installing Ext4 through Ubuntu Jaunty. Ext4 is quite a big update from Ext3 but it still is only incremental and is backwards-compatible with Ext3, so it is very stable, however a few issues about the filesystem have recently sprung up that may require you to be a little careful when using this filesystem.

Reasons to stick to Ext3:-

1) Ext3 is the default file system for *buntus.

2) It is very stable, so no worries about losing your data due to crashes.

3) The one that is recommended to be on your work stations.


The issues with Ext4:-

1) There have been reports of crashes having corrupted configuration files and sometimes more with Ext4 in use.

2) This has been addressed in kernel 2.6.30, however it will not hit Ubuntu Jaunty, but Ubuntu Karmic.

3) 9.04 Release Notes: Other Known Issues for more detail.

Therefore, while Ext4 is really good, it still does need a few bugs to be ironed out, but all in all, it is quite stable for the average desktop user, just as long as you take regular backups, as you would when using any file system.

And just one more thing, Ext4 is not to be blamed completely, part of the problem stems from programs which fail to adhere to the standard regarding I/O on disk.

More information regarding this matter can be obtained here:
Theodore Tso's(One of Ext4's main developers) blog post regarding this issue:-
http://thunk.org/tytso/blog/2009/03/...-file-problem/

Article (29 May 2009): The Ext4 File Linux File System by Dr. Oliver Diedrich