Tips for managing Linux filesystems
Blockwise
© Lead Image © Dmitry Sunagatov, Fotolia.com
Even with all the talk of Big Data and the storage revolution, a steady and reliable block-based filesystem is still a central feature of most Linux systems.
Linux is an operating system for lovers of variety, and filesystems are no exception: The range of filesystem options extends from block-based filesystems to temporary filesystems in RAM or pseudo filesystems. This workshop offers some tips for managing a filesystem in Linux.
Block-based filesystems are the most important components for storing data on disk. The best way to imagine a filesystem is like a kind of library that stores data efficiently and in a structured way. Almost every Linux system has at least one block-based filesystem, such as Ext4, XFS, or Btrfs. You have several filesystems to choose from on Linux, and you have probably had some experience with at least the Ext series. If you work with a current distribution, you are likely to have met other filesystems, too. Table 1 shows the standard filesystem for some leading Linux distributions.
Current filesystems are very similar, but they differ in some of the details. You will encounter the following terms when your work with Linux filesystems:
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Fedora 45 Now Available
The latest iteration of Fedora has arrived with Gnome 51 and KDE Plasma 6.8.
-
Linux 7.4 is "Much Healthier" Thanks to AI
At nearly 42 million lines, Linux 7.4 is the largest merge in the kernel’s history.
-
Working Exploit for a Linux Kernel Flaw Made Public
Even before a bug received its CVE identifier or an upstream fix, the local privilege escalation vulnerability exploit found its way into the wild.
-
r/opensource Bans AI-Assisted and AI-Related Projects
The de facto subreddit for all things open source has not only banned AI-related projects but also users who "don't speak English."
-
Bottlenecks Discovered by Meta Engineers Lead to Scalability Improvements
Thanks to a small group of engineers at Meta, the Linux kernel module kernfs has been improved, which has led to some serious gains.
-
PwnEscape Poses VM Vulnerability
A guest-to-host escape flaw in Linux KVM, named PwnEscape, might be yet another means of attacking Linux.
-
Linux Mint 27 Set for a Christmas Release
The developers behind Linux Mint have announced a Christmas release, and it looks like Santa's sack will be brimming with features.
-
Is Linus Torvalds Vibe Coding?
The creator of Linux has added AI into his process for Linux kernel development, and it's more than just for debugging.
-
openKylin 3.0 Released with Expanded AI Integration
The latest release features a pre-installed AI agent to help perform tasks.
-
DigitalOcean Ends Open Source Credits Program
In a change that has surprised many open source developers, DigitalOcean has decided to sunset its Open Source Credits Program.