NTFS-3G

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NTFS-3G
Basic data

developer Tuxera
Current  version 2017.3.23
( March 28, 2017 )
operating system FreeBSD , Haiku , Linux , macOS , NetBSD , OpenSolaris , QNX and others
programming language C.
category FUSE
License GNU GPL version 2
or proprietary
www.tuxera.com

NTFS-3G is on FUSE aufsetzender driver for NTFS - file system for Linux and other operating systems on which FUSE is available. Today, NTFS-3G is developed and distributed by Tuxera, whose CTO Szabolcs Szakacsits made a major contribution to the development of the driver. The Finnish company offers the file system driver in a dual license system in addition to the free version under a proprietary license for companies.

NTFS-3G allows full read and write access, currently with the exception of encrypted files and the creation and modification of compressed files. Access and ownership rights can only be set globally for the mount point when the file system is mounted. After extensive tests, the driver is considered stable.

development

A driver for the NTFS file system already existed with the Linux kernel 2.1.74 from 1995, but it only offered limited read access to NTFS file systems. In 2000 Anton Altaparmakov started the Linux NTFS project on SourceForge , which provided a driver for the Linux kernel in addition to a free NTFS program library and appropriate file system tools (such as fsck ). This was integrated in the developer kernel 2.5.11 in 2002 and also ported to the then stable 2.4.18 kernel.

The file system tools for the NTFS file system are contained in the ntfsprogs package , which also contains the FUSE file system driver ntfsmount . FUSE stands for “File System in Userspace” , file system in user mode . In unprivileged mode, the file system driver runs a little slower, but can be used more flexibly in many respects and, thanks to the availability of FUSE, is also easier to port on numerous platforms.

The developer Szabolcs Szakacsits finally presented a FUSE driver in the beta stage in 2006 , which should no longer have the known limitations of Linux NTFS. This made it possible for the first time to carry out any file operations from Linux on an NTFS file system. After successful further development, the first stable release as NTFS-3G Version 1.0 was announced on February 21, 2007.

According to the company, Tuxera Ltd was founded in 2008 by Szabolcs Szakacsits because more and more inquiries from well-known companies regarding the integration into their products made this step necessary. On its website, the company offers individually tailored versions as Tuxera NTFS for Embedded Systems .

At the end of August 2009 it became known that Tuxera had entered into a cooperation with Microsoft, which also includes an agreement on intellectual property . Since Microsoft also enabled insight into the specification of exFAT , Tuxera was able to develop the Tuxera exFAT driver for Embedded Systems in addition to NTFS , which is offered to commercial customers.

properties

NTFS-3G has meanwhile been ported to a large number of operating systems. Since the driver is based on FUSE , it runs on almost all operating systems for which FUSE itself is also available.

The stable version provides almost complete access to files on an NTFS file system. If write access to the file system is carried out while it is still integrated under another operating system (e.g. when using the hibernation mode or the quick start function of Windows 8 and newer), there is a risk of data loss because the other operating system may contain information the status of all mounted file systems in memory. Current versions of NTFS-3G therefore only integrate the file system write-protected by default if a Windows with active quick start or in hibernation is recognized.

In the “Advanced Features” development branch , experimental functions are tested in NTFS-3G and improved and corrected with the help of the user. Only when these functions are considered stable will they be released for the stable version.

These are currently:

  • Support of access and property rights according to the POSIX rules, interoperable with Windows.
  • POSIX ACLs (Access Control Lists)
  • "Junction points" and symbolic links are shown as symbolic links
  • Frequently accessed data are stored in a cache stored
  • The allocation of storage space for fragmented and sparse files has been improved
  • Access to Windows and NTFS-specific attributes such as "hidden" or "system" is possible using the so-called "extended attributes".
  • The archive bit is set when files are created and changed.
  • Compression: Sequential writing to compressed files is supported. (Exception: sparse files)
  • The latest test versions allow reading and setting the 8.3 DOS file name.
  • Tools for translating Windows users and user groups into POSIX users and groups as well as for checking the integrity of the data for access and property rights

The use of these extended functions is documented in detail on the website of these extensions.

Web links

  • NTFS-3G (English) - Site of the open source NTFS file system driver (at Tuxera)
  • Tuxera (English) - Tuxera Ltd website

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ www.tuxera.com .
  2. ↑ linux-ntfs.org. the Linux-NTFS-Project, archived from the original on February 11, 2009 ; accessed on June 19, 2011 (English, the Linux NTFS driver).
  3. ↑ Szakacsits Szabolcs: [ announcement ] ntfs-3g: open source read-write driver . Gmane , July 14, 2006, accessed June 19, 2011 (English, Szabolcs Szakacsits presents its first beta version of NTFS-3G).
  4. ↑ Comprehensive write access to NTFS under Linux. heise open , July 17, 2006, accessed June 19, 2011 .
  5. ↑ NTFS driver for Linux outgrows beta phase. heise open, February 21, 2007, accessed June 19, 2011 .
  6. ^ Company . Letter history . Tuxera Inc., accessed June 19, 2011 (via the company).
  7. ↑ a b Products . Tuxera Inc., accessed June 19, 2011 (Commercially marketed proprietary file system drivers, including NTFS and exFAT).
  8. ↑ NTFS-3G company signs IP agreement with Microsoft. heise online, August 26, 2009, accessed June 19, 2011 .
  9. ↑ https://www.heise.de/ct/artikel/Linux-und-Windows-8-Schnellstart-gefaehrdet-Daten-1780057.html
  10. ↑ NTFS-3G Advanced . Tuxera Inc., accessed June 19, 2011 (about the advanced features of NTFS-3G).
  11. ^ Changelog for the Advanced Versions . Jean-Pierre André, accessed March 14, 2018 ( Changelog of the Advanced Features of NTFS-3G).
  12. ↑ http://pagesperso-orange.fr/b.andre/extend-attr.html
  13. ↑ http://tuxera.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1248
  14. ↑ http://pagesperso-orange.fr/b.andre/compression.html
  15. ↑ http://tuxera.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1227