UNIX Filesystem Management
Bozidar Levi · 2002
The UNIX filesystem is the widely accepted name for UNIX’s hierarchical tree-structured directory organization, which holds all files merged together, enabling equal access to them regardless of their nature or type. Any file in the UNIX filesystem can be identified by its position in the tree in two ways: by an absolute file name, a full-path file name that starts from the root directory (represented by “/”); or by a relative file name, which is relative to the current working directory. Since everything in UNIX is either a file or filelike, UNIX filesystem management is one of the most important administrative tasks. Good filesystem management is the key issue for successful UNIX administration; since most activities are related, in some way, to the filesystems, most problems are related to the filesystems, too. Sufficient knowledge and understanding of this topic is crucial for administration. The purpose of the following text is to help readers better understand UNIX filesystem issues.