F-H

fdisk

A standard disk partition command utility that allows you to modify the physical and logical disk partition layout.

Fedora Linux

The successor to the freely available version of Red Hat Linux; more information on this Linux distribution is available online at www. fedoraproject.org. Formerly known as Fedora Core Linux, starting with Fedora 7, it includes all former Core and Extras packages.

filesystem

Filesystem has multiple meanings in Linux. It refers to mounted directories; the root directory (/) filesystem is formatted on its own partition. It also refers to file formats; Linux partitions are typically formatted to the ext3 filesystem.

Filesystem Hierarchy Standard

The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard is the official way to organize files in Unix and Linux directories. The top-level directory is known as the root directory (/); users' home directories are configured in /home.

find

The find command searches for a desired file through a given directory and its subdirectories.

fips

The First Interactive Partition Splitter, fips, allows you to split existing VFAT partitions.

firewall

A hardware or software system that prevents unauthorized access over a network. Normally used to protect a private LAN from attacks through the Internet.

firstboot

The process that starts when you've configured RHEL during installation to boot into the GUI (runlevel 5); also known as First Boot.

fsck

The fsck command checks the filesystem on a Linux partition for consistency.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

The FTP protocol is a TCP/IP protocol designed to optimize file transfer between computers.

gateway

A gateway is a route from a computer to another network. A default gateway address is the IP address of a computer or router that connects a LAN with another network such as the Internet.

getfacl

The getfacl command lets you read Access Control Lists (ACLs) on files and directories.

getty

A getty is a terminal program that includes prompts for a login and a password. Virtual console gettys are configured through the mingetty program via /etc/inittab.

GNOME (GNU Network Object Model Environment)

GNOME is the default GUI desktop for Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

GPG (GNU Privacy Guard)

GPG is an implementation of the OpenPGP standard included with Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

group ID

Every Linux group has a group ID, as defined in /etc/group.

GRUB (Grand Unified Bootloader)

The default boot loader for RHEL.

grub-install

The grub-install command makes your BIOS look for your GRUB boot loader.

hard limits

Associated with user quotas. Specifies the permanent maximum amount of space a user can have on a partition, independent of grace periods.

home directory

The home directory is the login directory for Linux users. Normally, this is /home/user, where user is the user's login name. It's also represented by the tilde (~) in any Linux command.

htpasswd

The htpasswd command helps create passwords for accessing a local Web site.