Chapter 38. Managing the File System

IN THIS CHAPTER

• The Fedora File System Basics

• Working with the ext3 File System

• Other File Systems Available to Fedora

• Creating a File System

• Mounting File Systems

• Relocating a File System

• Logical Volume Management

• File System Manipulation

• Managing Files for Character Devices, Block Devices, and Special Devices

• Reference

A Linux file system is more than just a format for your hard drive or floppy disk and more than just the disk itself or the formatting process. The file system is the structure and organization of data on a data storage device. In other words, it is how your data is organized and stored in files, disk drives, and removable media.

In this chapter, you learn about the structure of the disks themselves, the file systems that can be placed on them, and how to work with those file systems. You also learn some background and history about the file systems that Linux can use. This chapter provides some basic information about the file system's default settings, as well as how you can adapt those settings to better match your system and its needs. At the end of the chapter, you learn how to build a test file system and use the loopback file system so that you can safely explore all the file system commands without risking any damage to your system.

Also covered are the use of the file system table, fstab, and instructions for formatting ext3, reiserfs, and DOS drives. This chapter also discusses the special files for character and block devices, as well as the device file system, devfs. The "Reference" section is full of sources with extensive information on file system-related topics.