Chapter 9:

File-System Interface

Operating System Concepts essentials – 8th Edition Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Chapter 9: File-System Interface
 File Concept
 Access Methods
 Disk and Directory Structure
 File-System Mounting
 File Sharing
 Protection

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.2 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Objectives
 To explain the function of file systems

 To describe the interfaces to file systems

 To discuss file-system design tradeoffs, including access methods, file sharing, file locking, and directory
structures

 To explore file-system protection

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.3 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 File Concept
 Uniform logical view of information storage (no matter the medium)
 OS abstracts from physical properties into a logical storage unit, the file
 Files mapped onto physical devices, usually nonvolatile
 File is a collection of related information
 Smallest allotment of nameable storage
 Contiguous logical address space
 Types:
 Data
 numeric
 character
 binary
 Program
 May be free form or rigidly formed (structured)

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.4 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 File Structure
 None - sequence of words, bytes
 Simple record structure
 Lines
 Fixed length
 Variable length
 Complex Structures
 Formatted document
 Relocatable load file
 Can simulate last two with first method by inserting appropriate control characters
 Who decides:
 Operating system
 Program / programmer

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.5 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 File Attributes
 Name – only information kept in human-readable form
 Identifier – unique tag (number) identifies file within file system
 Type – needed for systems that support different types
 Location – pointer to file location on device
 Size – current file size
 Protection – controls who can do reading, writing, executing
 Time, date, and user identification – data for protection, security, and usage monitoring
 Information about files are kept in the directory structure, which is maintained on the disk
 Typically file’s name and identifier
 Identifier locates other file attributes
 Attributes may be > 1KB
 Directory structures may be > 1MB

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.6 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 File Operations
 File is an abstract data type
 Operations include the following (and usually more)
 Create – find space, add entry to directory
 Write – write data at current file position pointer location and update pointer
 Read – read file contents at pointer location, update pointer
 Reposition within file (seek) – change pointer location
 Delete – free space and remove entry from directory
 Truncate – delete data starting at pointer

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.7 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Open Files
 Open(Fi) – allow process to access a file
 Returns a file handle for system call reference to the file
 Search the directory structure on disk for entry Fi, and move the content or cache some of entry to
memory
 Close(file handle) – end processes’ access to the file
 Move the content of entry Fi in memory to directory structure on disk

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.8 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Open File Data Structures
 Usually a global table containing process-independent open file information
 Size
 Access dates
 Disk location of the file: cache of data access information
 File-open count: counter of number of times a file is open
 To allow removal of data from open-file table when last processes closes it

 Per-process open file table contains pertinent info, plus pointer to entry in global open file table
 Current file position pointer: pointer to next read/write location
 Access rights: per-process access mode information
 read, write, append

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.9 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Open File Locking
 Provided by some operating systems and file systems

 Mediates access to a file

 shared
 exclusive

 Mandatory or advisory:
 Mandatory – access is denied depending on locks held and requested
 Advisory – processes can find status of locks and decide what to do

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.10 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 File Locking Example – Java API
import java.io.*;
import java.nio.channels.*;
public class LockingExample {
public static final boolean EXCLUSIVE = false;
public static final boolean SHARED = true;
public static void main(String arsg[]) throws IOException {
FileLock sharedLock = null;
FileLock exclusiveLock = null;
try {
RandomAccessFile raf = new RandomAccessFile("file.txt", "rw");
// get the channel for the file
FileChannel ch = raf.getChannel();
// this locks the first half of the file - exclusive
exclusiveLock = ch.lock(0, raf.length()/2, EXCLUSIVE);
/** Now modify the data . . . */
// release the lock
exclusiveLock.release();

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.11 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 File Locking Example –
Java API (Cont.)
// this locks the second half of the file - shared
sharedLock = ch.lock(raf.length()/2+1, raf.length(),
SHARED);
/** Now read the data . . . */
// release the lock
sharedLock.release();
} catch (java.io.IOException ioe) {
System.err.println(ioe);
}finally {
if (exclusiveLock != null)
exclusiveLock.release();
if (sharedLock != null)
sharedLock.release();
}
}
}

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.12 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 File Types
 Most operating systems recognize file types
 Filename extension
 I.e. resume.doc, server.java, readerthread.c
 Most support them
 Automatically open a type of file via a specific application (.doc)
 Only execute files of a given extension (.exe, .com)
 Run files of a given type via a scripting language (.bat)
 Can get more advanced
 If source code modified since executable compiled, if attempt made to execute, recompile and then execute
(TOPS-20)
 Mac OS encodes creating program’s name in file attributes
 Double clicking on file passes the file name to appropriate application
 Unix has magic number stored in file at first byte indicating file type

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.13 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 File Types – Name, Extension

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.14 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 File Structure
 Types can indicate internal file structure
 Some Oses enforce, some use as hints, some ignore
 But some most conform to OS-required format
 I.e. executable file
 Some support more formats
 DEC VMS supported 3
 The more that are supported, the more kernel code, etc
 Some enforce access methods
 Others allow arbitrary access
 Unix supports directory files, executable files
 But all files are strings of bytes
– Can open a directory file via a text editor
 Files stored in fixed-size disk blocks
 Can have internal fragmentation

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.15 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Access Methods

 Sequential Access – tape model of a file

read next
write next
reset
no read after last write
(rewrite)
 Direct Access – random access, relative access
read n
write n
position to n
read next
write next
rewrite n
n = relative block number
 Can accommodate structured data in file by mapping record number to block
number
 Oses usually support both kinds, sometimes require access method declaration
during create()

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.16 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Sequential-access File

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.17 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Simulation of Sequential Access on
Direct-access File

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.18 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Example of Index and Relative Files

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.19 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Disk Structure
 Disk can be subdivided into partitions
 Disks or partitions can be RAID protected against failure
 Disk or partition can be used raw – without a file system, or formatted with a file system
 Partitions also known as minidisks, slices
 Entity containing file system known as a volume
 Each volume containing file system also tracks that file system’s info in device directory or volume table
of contents or directory)
 Records information for all files on the volume
 As well as general-purpose file systems there are many special-purpose file systems, frequently all
within the same operating system or computer

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.20 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 A Typical File-system Organization

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.21 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 File System Types
 Operating systems have multiple file system types
 One or more general-purpose (for storing user files)
 One or more special-purpose, i.e.
 tmpfs—“temporary” file system in volatile main memory, contents erased if the system reboots or
crashes
 objfs—a “virtual” file system (essentially an interface to the kernel that looks like a file system) that
gives debuggers access to kernel symbols
 ctfs— a virtual file system that maintains “contract” information to manage which processes start when
the system boots and must continue to run during operation
 lofs—a “loop back” file system that allows one file system to be accessed in place of another one
 procfs—a virtual file system that presents information on all processes as a file system

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.22 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Directory Overview
 Directory similar to symbol table translating file names to their directory entries
 Can be organized in many ways
 Organization needs to support operations including:
 Search for a file or multiple files
 Create a file
 Delete a file
 List a directory
 Rename a file
 Traverse the file system

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.23 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Directory Organization

 Should have the features

 Efficiency – locating a file quickly

 Naming – convenient to users

 Two users can have same name for different files
 The same file can have several different names

 Grouping – logical grouping of files by properties, (e.g., all Java programs, all games, …) or
arbitrarily

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.24 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Single-Level Directory

 A single directory for all users

Naming problem

Grouping problem

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.25 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Two-Level Directory
 Separate directory for each user

 Path name
 Can have the same file name for different users
 Efficient searching
 No grouping capability

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.26 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Added Directory Concepts
 Many variations, but some components essential
 Idea of current directory – default location for activities
 Now need a path specification
 If file is in current directory, just name it
 If in another directory, must specify by more detailed name
 Also need way to specify different filesystems
 MS-DOS gives letter to each volume, “\” separates directory name from file name – C:\userb\test
 VMS uses letter for volume and “[]” for directory specification – u:[sst.jdeck]login.com;1
 Note the support for versions via the trailing number
 Unix treats volume name as part of directory name - /u/pbg/test
 Many Oses search a set of paths for command names
 “ls” might search in current directory then in system directories

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.27 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Tree-Structured Directories

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.28 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Tree-Structured Directories (Cont.)
 Most common
 For example, allows users to can create directories within their directory
 Directory can then contain files or other directories
 Directory can be another file with defined formatting and attribute indicating its type
 Separate system calls to manage directory actions
 Absolute path is full specification of file local - /foo/bar/baz
 Relative path is location relative to current directory - ../baz
 Efficient searching
 Search path
 Grouping Capability
 Current directory (working directory)
 cd /spell/mail/prog
 type list

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.29 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Tree-Structured Directories (Cont)
 Creating a new file is done in current directory mail

 Delete a file
prog copy prt exp count
rm <file-name>
Deleting “mail” ⇒ deleting the entire subtree
 Creating a new subdirectory is done in current directory rooted by “mail”?
mkdir <dir-name>
Example: if in current directory /mail • Make users manually delete contents (and
subcontents) first (MS-DOS)
mkdir count
• Provide an option to delete all contents (Unix)

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.30 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Acyclic-Graph Directories
 Have shared subdirectories and files

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.31 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Acyclic-Graph Directories (Cont.)
 Adds ability to directly share directories between users
 But can now have multiple absolute paths to the same file

 Two different names (aliasing)

 If dict deletes list ⇒ dangling pointer

Solutions:
 Backpointers, so we can delete all pointers
Variable size records a problem
 Entry-hold-count solution

 New directory entry type

 Link – another name (pointer) to an existing file
 Indirect pointer
 Delete link separate from the files
 Hard and symbolic
 Resolve the link – follow pointer to locate the file

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.32 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 General Graph Directory

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.33 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 General Graph Directory (Cont.)
 How do we guarantee no cycles?
 Allow only links to file not subdirectories
 Garbage collection
 Every time a new link is added use a cycle detection algorithm to determine whether it is OK
 Or just bypass links during directory traversal

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.34 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 File System Mounting
 A file system must be mounted before it can be accessed
 Privileged operation
 First check for valid file system on volume
 Kernel data structure to track mount points

 Some systems have separate designation for mount point (i.e. “c:”)

 Others integrate mounted file systems into existing directory naming system
 In separate space (i.e. /volumes) or within current name space

 A unmounted file system on /device/dsk (i.e., Fig. 11-11(b)) is mounted at a mount point

 What if the mount point already has contents?

 Configuration file or data structure to track default mounts

 Used at reboot or to reset mounts

 What if files are open on a device that is being unmounted?

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.35 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 (a) Existing (b) Unmounted Partition

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.36 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 Mount Point

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.37 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 File Sharing
 Sharing of files on multi-user systems is desirable

 Sharing may be done through a protection scheme

 On distributed systems, files may be shared across a network

 Network File System (NFS) is a common distributed file-sharing method

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.38 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011
 File Sharing – Multiple Users
 User IDs identify users, allowing permissions and protections to be per-user

 Group IDs allow users to be in groups, permitting group access rights

Operating System Concepts Essentials – 8th Edition 9.39 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2011