As usual, the next release of Linux includes new features, but this time – with 5.15 – it now includes new NTFS read/write support in the kernel.      The code for this is from Paragon, and is already in the 5.15 codebase on git, so I decided to test it..

As this was pre-RC code, it also flagged up another new kernel ‘feature’, as the kernel compile failed with a warning – and now all compile warnings are treated as errors by default.   Fortunately, this can be disabled by de-selecting the new ‘compile the kernel with warnings as errors‘ option.   Apart from pre-pre-release kernels, I usually see kernel compile warnings with a new major release of GCC, so the ‘disable’ feature will be useful..

The new NTFS (ntfs3) options include ‘64 bits per NTFS clusters’, which should typically not be selected, as it is incompatible with current releases of Windows..

Some of the userland code will need to be updated to recognise ‘ntfs3’, but this can still be entered manually..

After compiling the git ‘5.15-pre0‘ kernel and booting, I then deinstalled the old ntfs-3g software, then created an ntfs USB stick on Win10, and copied a couple of files onto it.  Then plugged into the Linux system:

Console:
[12083.253447] ntfs3: sdc1: ino=5, “/” add mount option “acl” to use acl
[12083.253451] ntfs3: sdc1: ino=5, “/” add mount option “acl” to use acl
[12083.253453] ntfs3: sdc1: ino=5, “/” add mount option “acl” to use acl
[12083.254655] ntfs3: sdc1: ino=27, “xxxxxxxx.AVI” add mount option “acl” to use acl
[12083.254660] ntfs3: sdc1: ino=27, “xxxxxxxx.AVI” add mount option “acl” to use acl
[12083.255344] ntfs3: sdc1: ino=29, “xxxxxx.tar.xz” add mount option “acl” to use acl
[12083.255348] ntfs3: sdc1: ino=29, “xxxxxx.tar.xz” add mount option “acl” to use acl
[12083.255405] ntfs3: sdc1: ino=28, “S1200030.MP4” add mount option “acl” to use acl
[12083.255408] ntfs3: sdc1: ino=28, “S1200030.MP4” add mount option “acl” to use acl
[12083.255419] ntfs3: sdc1: ino=24, “System Volume Information” add mount option “acl” to use acl

I then created a temporary ntfs directory, and mounted the ntfs3 USB stick on it:

[root@rg400g4 rgadsdon]# mount /dev/sdc1 ntfs -t ntfs3
[root@rg400g4 rgadsdon]# ls ntfs
xxxxxxxx.AVI xxxxxx.tar.xz S1200030.MP4 ‘System Volume Information’

Copied files to/from it, and then unmounted, and mounted back on the Win10 system, and everything worked as it should..

Apart from better compatibility, the main benefit is improved performance, which will help me, when moving large 4K video clips around..

Robert Gadsdon.   September 7th 2021.