Novell is changing the file system software used by default in its Suse Linux operating system, aligning with rival Red Hat and moving away from a project whose future has become entangled with the fate of a murder suspect.
Novell said Thursday that new versions of Suse Linux Enterprise will use ext3 as the default file system, important foundational software that manages how data is stored on hard drives. The change demotes the current default, ReiserFS, to a secondary, though still supported, option.
ReiserFS has been under the control of Hans Reiser, a programmer who this week was arrested on suspicion of murdering his estranged wife. Novell had been considering its decision well before that event, however.
"In response to customer demand, in the next version Novell will be changing the default file system in new installations from ReiserFS 3 to ext3," Novell said in a statement. "Novell will continue to support and improve ReiserFS version 3."