Linus Torvalds has accepted into the kernel Linux 7.1, the release of which is expected in mid-June, a set of changes with a new implementation of the driver for the file system NTFS. The new driver is included under the name "ntfs", which was previously used for the remote kernel of the old driver that operated in read-only mode. Until now, the main NTFS driver in the kernel has been ntfs3, added a few years ago by Paragon Software.
The new implementation was developed by kernel developer Namjae Jeon , who has previously been involved in the development of exFAT, KSMBD and other subsystems. Work on the driver lasted about four years and represents a rework of the original NTFS driver with a cleaner codebase, which adds write support, more modern features, and improved integration with current Linux kernel mechanisms.
Among the advantages of the new implementation are mentioned full write support, higher stability compared to ntfs3, passing a greater number of tests xfstests, as well as the use of modern kernel capabilities, such as iomap and folio. Furthermore, custom utilities for the new implementation have been prepared for fsck. According to the authors, in terms of internal integration with modern kernel capabilities, the new driver looks preferable to the current one. ntfs3.
Before being included in the main branch, the code spent about two months in linux-next, where it underwent additional testing and review. The total volume of the new and reworked codebase is estimated at more than 36 thousand lines.
. Notably, Linus Torvalds initially rejected the first attempt to include the new driver due to formatting issues pull request in Git, but after sending a corrected version, the changes were accepted. Torvalds himself characterized what happened as "ntfs resurrection". Meanwhile, the driver ntfs3 still remains in the kernel source tree, and the new implementation can be included via the option NTFS_FS downward API support (simultaneously with this in Kconfig.
Source: linux.org.ru
