this post was submitted on 17 Jan 2026
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Upcoming exFAT Linux Driver Patch Can Boost Sequential Read Performance By ~10% (www.phoronix.com)
submitted 2 months ago by cm0002@lemmy.cafe to c/linux@programming.dev
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A patch for the open-source exFAT file-system driver for Linux can boost the sequential read performance by about 10% in preliminary tests.

There is a patch queued up into the exFAT driver's "dev" branch to support multi-cluster for the exfat_get_cluster code. Developer Chi Zhiling of China's Kylin OS worked on the patch and explained in the commit:

"This patch introduces a count parameter to exfat_get_cluster, which serves as an input parameter for the caller to specify the desired number of clusters, and as an output parameter to store the length of consecutive clusters.

This patch can improve read performance by reducing the number of get_block calls in sequential read scenarios. speacially in small cluster size.

According to my test data, the performance improvement is approximately 10% when read FAT_CHAIN file with 512 bytes of cluster size.

454 MB/s -> 511 MB/s"

With the patch now part of exFAT's dev branch, it's possible we will see this exFAT read performance improvement merged for the upcoming Linux 6.20~7.0 merge window. This is just one of several great performance optimizations observed in recent times for this exFAT adaptation for Linux.

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[–] morto@piefed.social 31 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

I used to think I was biased for being a linux user, but seriously, these days, the news pattern is like this:

Most news about windows:

  • Error in latest update made this fatal failure in millions of machines
  • Tests show latest version of something to be much slower than previous ones
  • You have to replace your hardware soon if you want to remain secure
  • New software that almost no one wants will be mandatory

Most news about linux:

  • Know that hardware you already have? It now works faster/safer/better
  • New version brings long awaited functionality
  • Something gaining linux support
[–] Jumuta@sh.itjust.works 8 points 2 months ago (3 children)

it's not all sunshine and rainbows though, Linux recently removed support for the i486 :(((

[–] piccolo@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 months ago

Nothing stops you from continuing support. It just doesnt make sense to pollute mainstream kernel for a cpu last produced 20 years ago.

[–] No1@aussie.zone 3 points 2 months ago

Can I still use a 386 with an 80387 math coprocessor ?

[–] morto@piefed.social 2 points 2 months ago

Yes, well remembered :(

[–] Malgas@beehaw.org 2 points 2 months ago

I've had some system updates lately that reduced disk usage.

It's difficult to imagine that ever happening on Windows.

[–] BlackLaZoR@fedia.io -1 points 2 months ago

Know that hardware you already have? It now works faster/safer/better

You have Nvidia GPU, these new closed source drives suck donkey balls.

New version brings long awaited functionality

Usually a bug fix that is like 10 years late. Like system not recognizing gamepad as input preventing energy saving mode. Or wayland not supporting disabling Vsync. Or still unfixed bug preventing Wireguard connections autoconnection at startup. Or System just randomly failing to read EDID from the monitor at startup. Or shit not working correctly after wakeup.

I could talk all day.

[–] Lembot_0006@programming.dev 2 points 2 months ago (6 children)

Does anyone even use exfat? What's the use case?

[–] cm0002@lemmy.cafe 26 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Full native cross compatibility with basically everything modern, if you need a drive to work between Linux, Mac and windows or even a device like a Blu-ray player that's exfat

It's fat32, but better and without that annoying 4GB file limitation

[–] PabloSexcrowbar@piefed.social 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I've never been able to get Windows to read an exFAT drive for some reason.

[–] cm0002@lemmy.cafe 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That's actually crazy because windows these days actually defaults to formatting drives in exfat lmao

[–] PabloSexcrowbar@piefed.social 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Fuckin right? I've formatted at least a couple different flash drives with exfat and taken them to various places to print stuff off of them and the drive never actually shows up when I plug it in. Switching it to NTFS or FAT32 always works, and I end up cursing out Microsoft every time.

[–] cm0002@lemmy.cafe 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Do you do the initial formatting on the same windows machine? Maybe it's fucking up the format process in some way

[–] PabloSexcrowbar@piefed.social 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Nope, I don't have any Windows machines so it's all done through fdisk and mkfs. I do use GPT instead of MBR but I didn't think that would matter.

[–] LiveLM@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

There's the answer, Windows loves doing this bs.
I've had multiple occasions where Windows couldn't read a Fat32 drive formatted somewhere else, had to format it on Windows first.
Nowadays I don't even try anymore, I do it from from a VM directly 🫩

[–] PabloSexcrowbar@piefed.social 3 points 2 months ago

I am untethered and my rage knows no bounds.

[–] hexagonwin@lemmy.sdf.org 12 points 2 months ago

it's basically slightly better fat32 so many devices use it e.g. my tv

[–] morto@piefed.social 9 points 2 months ago

Removable media and sd cards?

[–] BlackEco@lemmy.blackeco.com 7 points 2 months ago

Mostly cameras, they all format SD cards in exFAT now.

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago

You see that USB flash drive in the thumbnail?

[–] BlackLaZoR@fedia.io 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

How do you want the USB drive to work with linux and windows otherwise???

[–] Lembot_0006@programming.dev -4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I don't?

I just asked. Nothing more.

[–] Creat@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 months ago (2 children)

You asked a very loaded question, implying seeing no use for the file system and/or no point to these optimizations as a result.

If you genuinely didn't know where exFAT is used for, it's what is a common use of it, you could've asked just that. Like "what is exFAT used for" or "I've never heard of this, an I using this and just don't know it?".

[–] frongt@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 months ago

Or just looked at the Wikipedia page

[–] Lembot_0006@programming.dev -2 points 2 months ago

You're overthinking the situation.