Ubuntu Linux Toolbox: 1000+ Commands for Power Users, 2nd Edition

7

Administering Filesystems

IN THIS CHAPTER

Understanding Linux filesystem types

Partitioning disks with fdisk and parted

Working with labels with e2label and findfs

Creating filesystems with mkfs

Viewing filesystem info with tune2fs/dumpe2fs

Using swap areas with mkswap, swapon, and swapoff

Using fstab, mount, and umount to mount and unmount filesystems

Checking filesystems with badblocks and fsck

Creating encrypted filesystems

Viewing RAID information with mdadm

Checking disk space with du and df

Logical Volume Manager (LVM)

Filesystems provide the structures in which files, directories, devices, and other elements of the system are accessed from Linux. Linux supports many different types of filesystems (ext4, VFAT, ISO9660, NTFS, and so on) as well as many different types of media on which filesystems can exist (hard disks, CDs, USB flash drives, Zip drives, network drives, and so on).

Creating and managing disk partitions and the filesystems on those partitions are among the most critical jobs in administering a Linux system. That's because if you mess up your filesystem, you might very well lose the critical data stored on your computer's hard disk or removable media.

This chapter contains commands for partitioning storage media, creating filesystems, mounting and unmounting partitions, and checking filesystems for errors and disk space.

Understanding Filesystem Basics

Even though many different filesystem types are available in Linux, you will probably only assign a few ...