CentOS - Nov 2019 - External HD partitioning & formatting considerations

Hi,

One of my clients has a mixed Linux/Mac OS/Windows environment in his office.
He just purchased a 4 TB external hard disk, which he intends to use on his
various workstations.

Up until recently, I've been using plain old MBR/FAT for hard disks in mixed
environments. Fire up fdisk, make one big 0b type partition, and then format it
using mkdosfs.

Unfortunately, there's a 2 TB limit to that.

Of course, I could still use a GPT partition, but then I'd still have to
format
it using a "common denominator" filesystem, e. g. FAT... which is also
limited
to 2 TB as far as I know.

So what now? Use Windows 10 to format the disk using NTFS? This, Windows and
Linux could use it, and I'd have to check if Mac OS can manage NTFS file
systems. A few years ago, it didn't.

Any suggestions?

Niki
-- 
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Mail : info at microlinux.fr
T?l. : 04 66 63 10 32
Mob. : 06 51 80 12 12

On Sat, Nov 30, 2019 at 05:19:44PM +0100, Nicolas Kovacs
wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> One of my clients has a mixed Linux/Mac OS/Windows environment in his
office.
> He just purchased a 4 TB external hard disk, which he intends to use on his
> various workstations.
> 
> Up until recently, I've been using plain old MBR/FAT for hard disks in
mixed
> environments. Fire up fdisk, make one big 0b type partition, and then
format it
> using mkdosfs.
> 
> Unfortunately, there's a 2 TB limit to that.
> 
> Of course, I could still use a GPT partition, but then I'd still have
to format
> it using a "common denominator" filesystem, e. g. FAT... which is
also limited
> to 2 TB as far as I know.
> 
> So what now? Use Windows 10 to format the disk using NTFS? This, Windows
and
> Linux could use it, and I'd have to check if Mac OS can manage NTFS
file
> systems. A few years ago, it didn't.
> 
> Any suggestions?
Maybe UDF? 

-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Under no circumstances will I ever purchase anything offered to me as
    the result of an unsolicited e-mail message. Nor will I forward chain
    letters, petitions, mass mailings, or virus warnings to large numbers
    of others. This is my contribution to the survival of the online
    community.
 --Roger Ebert, December, 1996
----------------------------- The Boulder Pledge -----------------------------

What about exfat ?

2019?11?30?(?) 18:10 Fred Smith <fredex at fcshome.stoneham.ma.us>:
> On Sat, Nov 30, 2019 at 05:19:44PM +0100, Nicolas Kovacs wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > One of my clients has a mixed Linux/Mac OS/Windows environment in his
> office.
> > He just purchased a 4 TB external hard disk, which he intends to use
on
> his
> > various workstations.
> >
> > Up until recently, I've been using plain old MBR/FAT for hard
disks in
> mixed
> > environments. Fire up fdisk, make one big 0b type partition, and then
> format it
> > using mkdosfs.
> >
> > Unfortunately, there's a 2 TB limit to that.
> >
> > Of course, I could still use a GPT partition, but then I'd still
have to
> format
> > it using a "common denominator" filesystem, e. g. FAT...
which is also
> limited
> > to 2 TB as far as I know.
> >
> > So what now? Use Windows 10 to format the disk using NTFS? This,
Windows
> and
> > Linux could use it, and I'd have to check if Mac OS can manage
NTFS file
> > systems. A few years ago, it didn't.
> >
> > Any suggestions?
>
> Maybe UDF?
>
> --
>
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     Under no circumstances will I ever purchase anything offered to me as
>     the result of an unsolicited e-mail message. Nor will I forward chain
>     letters, petitions, mass mailings, or virus warnings to large numbers
>     of others. This is my contribution to the survival of the online
>     community.
>  --Roger Ebert, December, 1996
> ----------------------------- The Boulder Pledge
> -----------------------------
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