7 File Systems and Storage Free Online FlashCards

What does a file system do?

A file system organizes and retrieves data on a device, presenting it as named files and directories while tracking storage locations and access.

What does an inode represent on many Unix-like file systems?

An inode stores file metadata and identifies its data blocks. The filename is usually stored separately in a directory entry.

What is a hard link?

A hard link is another directory entry referring to the same inode as an existing name.

How do absolute and relative paths differ?

An absolute path starts at the root directory; a relative path starts at the process’s current working directory.

What is the difference between directory read and search permissions?

Read permission allows listing directory names; search permission allows looking up known names within the directory.

What does a superblock describe?

A superblock or volume metadata describes the file system as a whole, including information such as its size and layout.

What does it mean to mount a file system?

Mounting attaches a file system into the directory hierarchy so the operating system can make it available through a common interface.

What is a trade-off of contiguous allocation?

Contiguous allocation places a file in consecutive blocks. Sequential access can be fast, but growth may be difficult and free space can become fragmented.

What is an extent in file storage?

An extent is a range of consecutive blocks. Extent-based allocation represents files with these ranges, compactly describing large files while allowing nonadjacent ranges.

How does a bitmap track free space?

A bitmap tracks free space by using each bit to indicate whether a block is free or allocated.

What access does `rw-r--r--` grant?

In `rw-r--r--`, the owner can read and write; group members and others can only read.

What does a symbolic link store?

A symbolic link is a file that stores a path to another file.