Which Linux file system is recommended for eDirectory?

  • 7017056
  • 07-Dec-2015
  • 07-Feb-2020

Environment

NetIQ eDirectory 8.8 SP8
NetIQ eDirectory 9.x
SLES 15
RHEL 8

Situation

Linux offers a variety of file system to meet different needs.  Which file system gives eDirectory the best balance of performance and reliability.

Resolution

Current file systems and recommendations.  For more information the following links may be helpful:

https://www.suse.com/products/server/technical-information/#FileSystem

https://www.suse.com/communities/blog/xfs-the-file-system-of-choice/

Our current recommended file system of choice is XFS.  BTRFS is not supported and will result in a significant loss of performance.  Moreover, SUSE does not recommend keeping variable on BTRFS and will create XFS volumes for /home and data.  In this way there is no data loss on a rollback.  (These recommendations also apply to Red Hat.)


File SystemDescriptioneDirectory Recommendation
ReiserFSWas the default file system for SLES until 2006.  Replaced by EXT3.Not recommended for new installations
EXT3
Journaled file system used as the default for many years.
Recommended: the conservative choice.
EXT4
Block/inode allocator improvements.  Not fully 64-bit.
Recommended: OES' default file system
BTRFS
Copy on write file system.
Not supported: for SLES 12 and later it is the default.
XFS
Scalable enterprise file system. 
Highly recommended for all new installations.