virtualbox.org

On my linux box I have two hdd:
sda(1,2,3,4), 40 GB, with system and home
sdb1 15 GB NTFS, sdb2 135 GB ext3.
Before my windows machine was separated from linux and sdb1 was the windows partition for music and so on.
Now windows is guest in linux and I wonder if it make sense to have the NTFS partition, as windows access disks trough VB and linux drivers.
Furthermore, for VirtualBox is it faster and safer to access ext3 partition or ntfs ?

Ext3 benchmarks on Linux run far faster than ntfs-3g. Use Ext3 to store your VDIs. The fact that your Windows VMs use NTFS internally within the virtualised drive is irrelevant.

TerryE wrote:... The fact that your Windows VMs use NTFS internally within the virtualised drive is irrelevant.

Thanks Terry, I supposed it, but it is always better to ask.

Mr-Biscuit wrote:Accessing any drive requires a path and compatibility.
Faster is more applicable the more variables you have in common between the host and guest. Safer depends upon how each is set up.

You' re right Mr-Biscuit, this part of my question involves a large part of the modern computer tech.

For typical (default) installs the Windows guest won't know what partition type it is stored on. If you're mapping your 'sdb1' as a separate drive within Windows then it's being accessed as a network drive and, again, it wouldn't care what partition type it was.

The exception is if you want to setup native drive-access (which has much faster drive speed). I don't remember all the steps required but basically you could dedicate your 'sdb1' NTFS partition for a Windows guest and then it'd have direct access to real NTFS without any virtualization.

bsmith1051 wrote:For typical (default) installs the Windows guest won't know what partition type it is stored on. If you're mapping your 'sdb1' as a separate drive within Windows then it's being accessed as a network drive and, again, it wouldn't care what partition type it was.

The exception is if you want to setup native drive-access (which has much faster drive speed). I don't remember all the steps required but basically you could dedicate your 'sdb1' NTFS partition for a Windows guest and then it'd have direct access to real NTFS without any virtualization.

RAW Disk Access, as you mention, isn't all that much faster as you say it is. There were some benchmarks here where the speeds were tested, and it didn't vary all that much. If you say "it's a lot faster", I would assume a difference of at least 8 MB/s, but that isn't the case. In fact, the speed difference is negligible.

luquino wrote:Now windows is guest in linux and I wonder if it make sense to have the NTFS partition, as windows access disks trough VB and linux drivers.

For Windows, you only have two choices of filesystem: FAT32 or NTFS. There is significant benefit in using NTFS as it allows for greater security controls to be applied to files and directories and also uses journaling so that data is consistent following a system crash. If I recall correctly, FAT32 will also not support files larger than 4GB in size so if you ever intend to, e.g., image a DVD then you will not be able to do so on FAT32.

Trevor, I agree that NTFS is the logical file system to use in Windows, however as I read the original post, luquino now has a Linux box with a Windows VM and is wondering what filesystem to use to store his VDIs on his host.

TerryE wrote:Trevor, I agree that NTFS is the logical file system to use in Windows, however as I read the original post, luquino now has a Linux box with a Windows VM and is wondering what filesystem to use to store his VDIs on his host.

yes it' s true, I just wonder if I need to keep my NTFS partitions (data partitions on other disks than the c: drive) or convert all my disks in ext3

luquino wrote:

TerryE wrote:Trevor, I agree that NTFS is the logical file system to use in Windows, however as I read the original post, luquino now has a Linux box with a Windows VM and is wondering what filesystem to use to store his VDIs on his host.

yes it' s true, I just wonder if I need to keep my NTFS partitions (data partitions on other disks than the c: drive) or convert all my disks in ext3

Unless you use RAW Disk Access, all Host drives should be the best file system for the Host OS. So in this case, your NTFS drive should be ext3 for better compatibility on the Host. The Guest doesn't see this drive, and if you share it, the file system doesn't matter.

Sasquatch wrote: Unless you use RAW Disk Access, all Host drives should be the best file system for the Host OS. So in this case, your NTFS drive should be ext3 for better compatibility on the Host. The Guest doesn't see this drive, and if you share it, the file system doesn't matter.

Actually I converted my NTFS partitions to ext3 and everything is working like a charm