Boot File System
| Developer(s) | Bell Labs[citation needed] |
|---|---|
| Full name | Boot File System |
| Introduced | with UNIX System V |
| Partition identifier | 0x63 (MBR) |
| Structures | |
| Directory contents | single inode table |
| File allocation | 16-bit inodes |
| Limits | |
| Max. filename length | 14 characters |
| Other | |
| Supported operating systems | SVR4, UnixWare[citation needed] |
The Boot File System (named BFS on Linux, but BFS also refers to the Be File System) was used on UnixWare to store files necessary to its boot process.[1]
It does not support directories, and only allows contiguous allocation for files, to make it simpler to be used by the boot loader.
Implementations
Besides the UnixWare support, Martin Hinner wrote a bfs kernel module for Linux that supports it.[2]
He documented the file system layout as part of the process.[3]
The Linux kernel implementation of BFS was written by Tigran Aivazian and it became part of the standard kernel sources on 28 October 1999 (Linux version 2.3.25).[4]
The original BFS was written at AT&T Bell Laboratories for the UNIX System V, Version 4.0 porting base in 1986.[citation needed] It was written by Ron Schnell, who is also the author of Dunnet (game).[citation needed]
BFS was the first non-S5[clarification needed] (System V) Filesystem written using VFS (Virtual Filesystem) for AT&T UNIX.
References
- ↑ "UnixWare architecture supports multiplatform interoperability". InfoWorld: 66. 28 June 1993.
- ↑ Martin Hinner (1999). "UnixWare boot filesystem for Linux". Martin Hinner. http://martin.hinner.info/fs/bfs/.
- ↑ Martin Hinner (1999). "The BFS filesystem structure". Martin Hinner. http://martin.hinner.info/fs/bfs/bfs-structure.html.
- ↑ Tigran Aivazian (1999). "Linux Implementation of SCO UnixWare BFS". Tigran Aivazian. http://ftp.linux.org.uk/pub/linux/iBCS/bfs/.
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