05 Linux Filesystems and File Management

Question 1

What utilities can be used to partition a disk in Linux

Answer 1

fdisk and gparted

Question 2

T/F EXFAT is the new default filesystem for Linux

Answer 2

FALSE

Question 3

which type of device will a USB memory stick inserted into a Linux system normally be?

Answer 3

NOT /dev/hdc,vda or usb0, sd usually

Question 4

How many partitions can a GPT-partitioned disk have?

Answer 4

128

Question 5

Which of the following programs can convert a PC-DOS partitioned disk to a GPT partitioned disk?

Answer 5

NOT fdisk, gparted, format, or gnome-disks

Question 6

T/F the file name is contained in the directory inode

Answer 6

True

Question 7

T/F the file name is contained in the file inode

Answer 7

False

Question 8

What is the VFS

Answer 8

universal translator for filesystems

Question 9

What is the path for reads/writes on the way to the disk?

Answer 9

First sent to VFS, the command is translated by the VFS for use by the device driver, then sent to the device for the actual read/writes to happen

Question 10

What are filesystem control blocks known as and what do they do?

Answer 10

Inodes. They keep file metadata such as owner, access time, creation time, and more. They point to the data blocks used by the file

Question 11

In a filesystem context, what is the purpose of journaling?

Answer 11

Write info to a journal first, then writes the data to the correct location in the inode. If the process is interrupted the journal can still be executed on boot. If that completes the journal is dumped. Journaling metadata is highly recommended

Question 12

in device names, /dev/xxny what do the xx, the n, and the y correspond to?

Answer 12

xx is type of device, y is the letter indicating discovery order, and n is the partition number

Question 13

True/False, disk names are always assigned the same way at every boot

Answer 13

False, this can change if the order the computer discovers them is changed somehow.

Question 14

What is UUID

Answer 14

Universally Unique Identifier, assigned to each disk to give it a 100% unique identification

Question 15

in MBR, what are the three partition types and what do they do?

Answer 15

Primary, one FS or logical drive. Associated with swap or boot
Extended: several partitions can be contained within this, has its own partition table
Logical, limited by device type

Question 16

What is GPT when discussing filesystems?

Answer 16

GUID Partition Table. GUID is the glbally unique identifier

Question 17

How many partitions can you have with a GPT partitioning scheme?

Answer 17

128

Question 18

What are the 5 disk formatting utilities and what are their particular use cases?

Answer 18

1. fdisk, text, menu based and flexible
2. sfdisk, text, non interactive and useful for scripting
3. parted, text, GNU partition manipulation program
4. gnome-disk, graphical,
5. gparted: gnome graphical version of parted

Question 19

what are the 4 main fields of information contained in a directory inode?

Answer 19

1. inode: unique number identifying the file object
2. name_len: length of file name
3. file_type: 0=unknown, 1=refular file, 2= directory, 3=charachter-device, 4=block-device, 5=FIFO, 6=socket, 7=symlink
4. name: file name

Question 20

what command can you use to see all the meta information for a file?

Answer 20

stat