A Linux 6.9 kernel base code has undergone a change that reclassifies the driver implementing the Ext2 file system from supported to deprecated. This change is due to the driver’s support being limited to 32-bit timestamp counters in inodes, which will overflow on January 19, 2038.
To work with existing partitions, it is recommended to use the ext4 driver instead of the ext2 driver, as it supports the Ext2 file system and is fully compatible with it. Moreover, it can use timestamps in ext2 partitions that are not affected by the 2038 problem, provided the filesystem is created with inodes larger than 255 bytes (the ext2 driver used 32-bit counters regardless of inode size).
Ext2 users are advised to check the inode size being used. The mkfs.ext2 utility has been defaulted to use 256-byte inodes since version 1.46.5 (available in Ubuntu 22.04). Previously, to increase the inode size, one could use the command "mkfs.ext2 -I 256". If 128-byte inodes are in use, they should be converted to 256-byte inodes: $ sudo tune2fs -l /dev/sda1 | grep "Inode size" Inode size: 128 $ sudo e2fsck -f /dev/sda1 $ sudo tune2fs -I 256 /dev/sda1
According to Theodore Ts’o, the creator of Ext2/3/4 file systems, if anyone misses the ext2 driver due to its simplicity (for example, it may be needed for resource-saving purposes in embedded systems), it is still possible to add support for 64-bit timestamp counters, which should not be too difficult.
Forrás: opennet.ru
