102.1 Design hard disk layout Flashcards
What is the directory from which all others descend?
root ( / )
What is in /var usually?
This is a variable location. Typically you will find log files and other dynamic content.
What is the /home directory?
/home is the user’s home directory, where personal files are stored.
Which file system location stores the Linux kernel and all its supporting files?
/boot
This file system location is often used by third party software vendors. What is it called?
/opt
What is SWAP space?
Swat space is temporary storage that acts like RAM.
Why is a swap file lower in performance than a dedicated swap partition?
Because it’s actually writing to a separate file within any partition, while a swap partition, all data that gets sent there is just going straight to the hard disk and not getting written to an extra file.
What is the rule of thumb for the size of a swap file?
To set the swap file space to be 1.5 to 2 times the size of RAM on the computer.
What does this mean? /dev/sda
sda means that is your first hard drive. It ‘s the “a” in “sda” that tells us this. (at least the first drive that the Kernel can recognize).
When a percentage of _____ is full is that the kernel will move the _____ used data to swap.
RAM - less
What command displays every partition and corresponding mount points in the system?
mount
What functions does the #mount command have?
- show the partitions and mount points
2. mount partitions to directories
How is /dev/sda1 interpreted/read?
These are partitions:
/dev/sda1 > first partition (1) of the first drive (a)
What is a mount point?
A mount point is when you take a partition of a disc or an entire disc and you mount it to a specific directory.
What is a block device?
A hard disk that writes large amounts of data in block sizes to a location.
Which command lists the partition information on a specific disk?
fdisk -l /dev/sda
In the output of the command fdisk -l /dev/sda, what does the star sign mean under the title “boot”?
It means this disk has the boot flag set on it so the computer knows to boot from it.
What command can you use to see how the swap partitions are set up?
swapon –summary
What does LVM stand for?
Logical Volume Manager
What does LVM do?
It allows the creation of groups of disks or partitions that can be assembled into a single or multiple file systems.
You can use an LVM volume for any mount point except one, which one?
/boot. /boot has to be a regular file system.
Why can’t an LVM volume use /boot?
Because GRUB cannot read beta data
What does LVM allow in terms of flexibility for volumes?
+It allows resizing of volumes (increase or decrease)
+It allows to take snapshots of a logical volume
How many PV (physical volumes or physical disks) do you have to have to use LVM?
It doesn’t matter. It can be one or many.
How can you create a sort of backup in LVM?
With a snapshot
What is on top of a VG - Volume Group - ?
An LV (Logical Volume). A LV is a lot like a partition.
What is the hierarchical structure of LVM from general to specific?
PV > VG > LV > FS
Physical Volume > Volume Group > Logical Volume > File System
What does the #pvs command do?
It checks out all individual physical volumes that belong to an LVM setup.
What does the #vgs command do?
It lists out the volume groups within an LVM group.
What does #vgs stand for?
volume group scan
What command do you use to list out the logical volumes in an LVM group?
lvs
What command do you use to list out the volume groups within an LVM group?
vgs
What command do you use to list out the physical volumes within an LVM group?
pvs
Which is the partition or directory that contains all hardware that is attached to your system?
/dev
What does LVM do?
LVM creates virtual block devices from physical devices.
What does a VG (volume group) encompass?
It encompass all PV -physical volumes-
what does #pvs stand for?
Physical volume scan
Which is the bottom of the directory tree in Linux, and how is it represented?
root. Its symbol is /
What does the /media directory contain?
It is where CD drives and usb drives can be mounted to.
What does the /opt directory contain?
Optional location for applications that are not stored in the /bin directory.
What does the /boot directory contain?
It contains the files the system needs to be booted up.
What does the /dev directory contain?
It contains all references to the devices connected to the system such as HDD, keyboards, usb devices, sound cards and anything else connected to the computer.
What does the /etc directory contain?
It contains config files for system services and system info.
What does the /home directory contain?
It contains the user’s personal files, downloads and saved documents.
What does the /usr directory contain?
It has its own set of directory tree closely mirroring that of the root directory.
What does the /tmp directory contain?
It is used by applications to store temporary data.
What does the /sys directory contain?
Hardware info
What does the /srv directory contain?
It usually has server applications such as web servers.
What does the /sbin directory contain?
It contains the system administrator’s programs and tools Only the root user has access to this location.
It contains the system administrator’s programs and tools only the root user has access to this location.
Which is the root’s home directory?
/root
What does the /proc directory contain?
It provides info about the processes running in the system.
What does the /mount directory contain?
It is where other HDD can be mounted to the system.
