You are right, it is simply too much effort. My lecturer, too, said that this is overkill. I'll read into ext2/3 and begin with a part, which I can use for my thesis. Anyhow, I'll use NetBSD for my research, let's see what comes out in the end.However, a number of students have tried in the past and failed, so it may not be an entirely good idea.
Thanks!