What Is a Filesystem?

A filesystem is an area of storage medium (e.g., disk or tape) that has been made ready for holding data in file and directory format. A filesystem is given a name when it is created, and it can only be used once it has been made available. The process of making a filesystem available for use is called “mounting.” When a filesystem is mounted, it has the effect of it becoming attached to one of the directories that exists on a different filesystem. When used in this way, the directory is called a “mount point.” Normally, the mount point a filesystem uses will exist within a previously mounted filesystem. The root filesystem, mounted on “/,” is the most fundamental because it is mounted first, when the system boots, using ...

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