1.10 Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS)

Question 2

What are the benefits to the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS)?

Answer 2

Provides Linux software developers and Linux system administrators with a standard directory structure for filesystems. This ensures that there’s consistency between various Linux systems and distributions.

Question 3

Why does a Linux system use a more structured file system than the Windows OS?

Answer 3

The structured filesystem:

• Allows software to predict where to place configuration files
• Allows system adminisrators and users to predict where to find system configuration files and other objects they need to work with.
  In Windows, the GUI is used to navigate these things and makes the underlying file system structure less important.

Question 4

What should you be aware of when saving files in the /tmp directory?

Answer 4

Files stored in the /tmp directory are ephemeral; the system periodically purges old files in this directory.

Question 5

Which directory is specified by Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) to hold temporarily mounted filesystems?

Answer 5

The /mnt directory is specified by the FHS to hold temporarily-mounted filesystems.

Question 6

What are the two different types of device files found in the /dev directory?

Answer 6

1. Character-oriented device files - devices that use data sequentially, like a printer, mouse, or tape drive
2. Block-oriented device files - devices that manage data in blocks, like floppy disk and hard disks

Question 7

Which device files would represent the first and second floppy drives?

Answer 7

• /dev/fd0
• /dev/fd1

Question 8

Which device files would represent the first and second hard drives?

Answer 8

• /dev/sda
• /dev/sdb

Question 9

Which device file would represent the CDROM drive?

Answer 9

/dev/scd0

Question 10

Which device files would represent the serial and parallel ports, respectively?

Answer 10

• /dev/ttyS0
• /dev/lp0

Question 11

What is the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS)?

Answer 11

The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) governs the unified file system for Linux systems by defining a standard set of directories, subdirectories, and files. FHS is a subset of the Linux Standards Base (LSB).

Question 12

What is the Linux Standards Base (LSB)?

Answer 12

The Linux Standards Base (LSB) is an organization and a set of guidelines for promoting standards to increase Linux distribution compatibility.

Question 13

What does the / character represent with respect to the filesystem hierarchy?

Answer 13

The / character represents the root directory of the Linux system. All directories are below the / (root directory) of the system.

Question 14

What does the /bin directory contain?

Answer 14

The /bin directory contains binary commands that are available to all users.

Question 15

What does the /boot directory contain?

Answer 15

The /boot directory contains the kernel and bootloader files.

Question 16

What does the /dev directory contain?

Answer 16

The /dev directory contains device files that represent the devices used by the system, such as a hard drive, mouse, and printer.

Question 17

What does the /etc directory contain?

Answer 17

The /etc directory contains configuration files specific to the system.

Question 18

What does the /home directory contain?

Answer 18

The /home directory contains the user home directories (by default).

Question 19

What does the /lib directory contain?

Answer 19

The /lib directory contains shared program libraries that are used by programs in the /bin and /sbin directory. It also contains kernel modules.

Question 20

What does the /media directory contain?

Answer 20

The /media directory contains the /cdrom and /floppy directories.

Question 21

What does the /mnt directory contain?

Answer 21

The /mnt directory is an empty directory, and is often used for temporarily mounted filesystems.

Question 22

What does the /opt directory contain?

Answer 22

The /opt directory contains the additional programs on the system.

Question 23

What does the /proc directory contain?

Answer 23

The /proc directory contains information about the system state and processes. This is not a physical directory; it is a pseudo file system that is dynamically created whenever it is accessed.

Question 24

What does the /root directory contain?

Answer 24

The /root directory is the root user’s home directory.

Question 25

What does the /sbin directory contain?

Answer 25

The /sbin directory contains system binary commands.

Question 26

What does the /srv directory contain?

Answer 26

The /srv directory contains files for services such as HTTP and FTP servers.

Question 27

What does the /sys directory contain?

Answer 27

The /sys directory contains the sysfs virtual filesystem which displays information related to hardware on your system, such as devices and drivers.

Question 28

What does the /tmp directory contain?

Answer 28

The /tmp directory contains temporary files created by programs during system use.

Question 29

What does the /usr directory contain?

Answer 29

The /usr directory contains system commands and utilities.

Question 30

What does the /var directory contain?

Answer 30

The /var directory contains data files that change constantly.

Question 31

What does the /var/mail directory contain?

Answer 31

The /var/mail directory contains e-mail in mailbox files. This is sometimes /var/spool/mail.

Question 32

What does the /var/spool directory contain?

Answer 32

The /var/spool directory contains files waiting for processing, such as print jobs or scheduled tasks.

Question 33

What does the /var/www directory contain?

Answer 33

The /var/www directory contains www or proxy cache files.

Question 34

Which directory stores the man pages?

Answer 34

The /usr/share/man directory contains the man pages.

Question 35

What does the /usr/share/man directory contain?

Answer 35

The /usr/share/man directory contains the man pages.