Chapter 3 - Configuring Hardware Flashcards
Summarize BIOS and EFI essentials.
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The BIOS and EFI provide important function: First, they configure hardware - both hardware that’s built into the motherboard and hardware on many types of pulg-in cards. Second, they begin the computer’s boot process, passing control on to the boot loader in the MBR or EFI, which performs these tasks on modern computers
Describe what files contain important hardware information.
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There are many files under the /proc filesystem. Many of these files have been mentioned throughout this chapter. Familiarize yourself with these files, such as /proc/ioports,/proc/interrupts,/proc/dma,/proc/bus/usb and others.
Explain Linux’s model for managing USB hardware.
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Linux uses drivers for USB controllers. These drivers in turn are used by some device-specific drivers (for USB disk devices, for instance) and by programs that access USB hardware via entries in the /proc/bus/usb discovery tree.
Summarize how to obtain information about PCI and USB devices.
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The lspci and lsusb programs return information about PCI and USB devices, respectively. You can learn manufacturers’ names and various configuration options by using these commands.
Identify common disk types and their features.
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PATA disks were the most common type on PCs until about 2005. Since then, SATA disks, which are more easily configured, have gained substantially in popularity. SCSI disks have long been considered the top-tier disks, but their high price has kept them out of inexpensive commondity PCs.
Describe the purpose of disk partitions.
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Disk partitions break the disk into a handful of distinct parts. Each partition can be used by a different OS, can contain a different filesystem and is isolated from other partitions. These features improve security and safety and can greatly simplify running a multi-OS system
Summarize important Linux disk partitions.
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The most important Linux disk partition is the root (/) partition, which is at the base of the Linux directory tree. Other possible partitions include a swap partition, /home for home directories, /user for program files, /var for transient system files, /tmp for temporary user files, /boot for the kernel and other critical boot files and more.
Describe commands that help you monitor disk use.
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The df command provides a one-line summary of each mounted filesystem’s size, available space, free space and percentage of space used. The du command adds up the disk space used by all of the files in a specified directory tree and presents a summary by directory and subdirectory.
Summarize the tools that can help keep a filesystem healthy.
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The fsck program is a front end to filesystem-specific tools such as e2fsck and fsck.jfs. By whatever name, these programs examine a filesystem’s major data structures for internal consistency and can correct minor errors.
Explain how filesystems are mounted in Linux.
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The mount command ties a filesystem to a Linux directory; once the filesystem is mounted, its files can be accessed as part of the mount directory. The /etc/fstab file describes permanent mappings of filesystems to mount points; when the system boots, it automatically mounts the described filesystems unless they use the noauto option (which is common for reovable disks)
