Linux Mint 10 is the first version of Linux Mint with built-in support for the B-tree File System (btrfs). Btrfs is one of the newest file systems in the Linux kernel.

Ubuntu 10.10 beta is the latest Linux distribution release to have support for the btrfs file system. Btrfs (B-tree File System) is a copy-on-write file system for Linux. It changes how we manage disks on Linux.

This tutorial presents a step by step guide on how to install Ubuntu 10.10 beta on a btrfs file system.

Earlier this week we reported that Ubuntu has plans for the Btrfs file-system in 2011 and 2012 by providing support for installing Ubuntu Linux to a Btrfs file-system. This information was based upon documents coming out of the Ubuntu Developer Summit in Brussels, but it turns out that Canonical may actually deploy Btrfs this year.

While we are still waiting for Btrfs, the B-tree File System, to be mature enough and be used as the default file system in Linux, it is already possible to install your favorite (Linux) distribution on a Btrfs file system. Linux Mint 12 KDE, a distribution based on Ubuntu Desktop, is one of those.

ext3 and ext4 file systems can be converted to btrfs. For non-root file systems, this can be done online (i.e., without reboot), while for root file systems we need to boot into some kind of rescue system or Live CD. This guide explains how to convert an ext3 or ext4 root file system into btrfs on Ubuntu 12.10 and how to roll back to ext3/ext4 again if desired.

Like many recent Linux releases, Mageia's installer supports btrfs, a copy-on-write file system with built-in support for subvolumes, filesystem-based RAID 0/1/10, online resizing, etc.

It is still under development, and not yet recommended for use in a production, but it is already the default file system on MeeGo, and is slated to be the default on Fedora 16.

In recent history, journaling file systems were viewed as an oddity and thought of primarily in terms of research. But today, a journaling file system (ext3) is the default in Linux®. Discover the ideas behind journaling file systems, and learn how they provide better integrity in the face of a power failure or system crash. Learn about the various journaling file systems in use today, and peek into the next generation of journaling file systems.

Btrfs, the B-tree File System, is almost at the stage when it will become the default file system on the major Linux distributions. It is already the default on MeeGo, and will, by the next two releases or so, be the default on Fedora.

This guide shows how to work with the btrfs file system on Linux. It covers creating and mounting btrfs file systems, resizing btrfs file systems online, adding and removing devices, changing RAID levels, creating subvolumes and snapshots, using compression and other things.