How do I create a filesystem > 8TB?

Problem:

How do I create a filesystem > 8TB?

Solution:

The following table lists the maximum size of an ext3 filesystem for various OS versions:

OSMaximum Size
CentOS 4.x8TB
RHEL 4.x8TB
CentOS 5.x16TB
RHEL 5.x16TB
Fedora Core 516TB
Fedora Core 616TB
Fedora 716TB
Fedora 816TB
Fedora 916TB

To format a filesystem larger than 8TB, the -F flag must be used. For example: 

# mkfs.ext3 -F /dev/sda1