File System Recovery and Fault Tolerance

The file system is the single most critical element of the operating system. If the file system gets corrupted, not only can data be lost entirely, it can be scrambled in ways that aren't immediately apparent. This can happen for a variety of reasons. A disk can crash or get large numbers of sector errors. You might lose power to the system thanks to a failed UPS (or no UPS at all) causing a total loss of cached data. A misbehaved driver might lock the system or run rampant over the file system metadata files. Or it might just be your time in the pit.

Recovering a consistent file system has the same urgency for a system administrator as recovering a stable pulse and vital signs has for an emergency care ...

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