Maximum partition size support

A file system is a method for storing and organizing computer files and the data they contain to make it easy to find and access them. Some time it is necessary to know maximum file and partition size. Currently the most commonly used Linux file systems are ext2, ext3 or ReiserFS. To support files larger than 2 GiB on 32-bit systems, Linux need to use Large File Support (LFS). The LFS support is done by the Linux kernel and the GNU C library i.e. glibc. LFS raises the limit of maximal file size. For 32-bit systems the limit is 2 GiB but using the LFS interface on filesystems that support LFS applications can handle files as large as 2⁶³ bytes.

Below is a summery of the these file system:

Click to enlarge

Please note that following Linux distributions comes with LFS support:

• Red Hat Linux
• Suse Linux
• Debian

Maximum Number of Partitions
Please note that under Linux maximum 63 IDE partitions can be created and 15 SCSI partitions can be created per disk.

Update 18-Nov-05, 23:18 IST by nixCraft
Q. Aniruddha is working with Dell Server (6680 server) installed Redhat AS 4 server (2.6.4 kernal, 32Bit with ext3 FS.), ENC CX500 Storage connected to it, that provides 16 TB of size and he want to connect this volume to Redhat Server. He is not able to create single volume of 6TB on Redhat AS 4 server, maximum he can create 1.8TB or 1.4 TB.

A. I had same problem to create 8 TB logical unit, after upgrading RHEL via up2date command it started to support disk size large than 2TB. so first update it next make sure HBA, HBA driver, and the storage device must also support 64-bit block address. If all this condition satisfied RHEL can see disk size upto 32TB! In short update kernel version via up2date. Also let me know the HBA driver name you are using and make sure it support 64 bit addressing.

That is why you need to use 64bit server and not 32 bit, anyways update kernel and use LVM2.