A Guide to Unix Using Linux

Fourth Edition

Chapter 2
Exploring the UNIX/Linux File Systems
and File Security
 Objectives

• Discuss UNIX/Linux file systems

• Explain partitions and inodes
• Understand the elements of the root hierarchy
• Use the mount command
• Explain and use paths, pathnames, and prompts

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 Objectives (continued)

• Navigate the file system

• Create and remove directories
• Copy and delete files
• Configure file permissions

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 Understanding UNIX/Linux File
Systems
• File: basic component for data storage
• File system: UNIX/Linux system’s way of organizing
files on storage devices
– Physical file system: section of the hard disk that
has been formatted to hold files
• UNIX/Linux consist of multiple file systems that form
virtual storage space for multiple users
• UNIX/Linux systems support many file systems
– Examples: UNIX file system (ufs), extended file
system (ext or ext fs)
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 Understanding UNIX/Linux File
Systems (continued)
• ufs: original native UNIX file system
– Expandable, supports large amounts of storage,
provides excellent security, reliable
– Supports journaling
– Supports hot fixes
• In Linux, the native file system is ext
– Installed by default
– Modeled after ufs
• First version contained some bugs
– Newer versions of Linux use ext2, ext3, or ext4
• ext4 enables the use of extents
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 Understanding the Standard Tree
Structure
• The treelike structure for UNIX/Linux file systems
starts at the root file system level
– Root is denoted by /
• Slash represents the root file system directory
• Directory: special kind of file that can contain other
files and directories
– May have subdirectories
• Subdirectory is considered child of parent directory

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 Using UNIX/Linux Partitions

• Partition: section of disk that holds a file system

– UNIX/Linux partitions identified with names
• Examples: hda1, sda1
– First two letters tell Linux the device type
– Third letter indicates if disk is the primary or
secondary disk
– Partitions on a disk are numbered starting with 1
• Peripherals connect through electronic interfaces
– Examples of hard disk interfaces: IDE, SCSI, EIDE

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 Setting Up Hard Disk Partitions

• Partition to organize space to contain file systems

• Some UNIX/Linux vendors recommend that:
– Root partition holds the root file system directory
– Swap partition acts like an extension of memory
• General rule: same size as RAM
• A swap partition enables virtual memory
– /boot partition to store OS kernel files
• Other partitions:
– /usr (for utilities), /home, /var
• Mount partition to become part of file system
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 Using Inodes

• Information nodes, or inodes

– Each directory/file has an inode and is identified by
an inode number
• Inode 0 contains the root of the directory structure (/)
– Jumping-off point for all other inodes
– Contains file/directory name, general information,
pointer to the directory/file on a disk partition
• Superblock contains information about the layout
of blocks on a specific partition

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 Exploring the Root Hierarchy

• The root (/) file system is mounted by the kernel

when the system starts
– To mount a file system is to connect it to the
directory tree structure
• System administrator uses mount command
– Root file system contains all essential programs for
file system repair
• Restoring from a backup
• Starting the system
• Initializing all devices and operating resources
• Information for mounting other file systems
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 The /bin Directory

• Contains binaries, or executables

– Programs needed to start the system and perform
other essential system tasks
• Holds many programs that all users need to work
with UNIX/Linux

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 The /boot Directory

• Normally contains:
– Files needed by the bootstrap loader
• The bootstrap loader is the utility that starts the OS
– Kernel (OS) images

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 The /dev Directory
• Files in /dev reference system devices
• Devices are managed through device special files
– Contain information about I/O devices that are used
by OS kernel when a device is accessed
– Two types:
• Block special files
– Example: for CD/DVD drives
• Character special files
– Example: for printers
– To see the list of device files: ls -l /dev
– null is a “black hole”
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 The /etc Directory

• Contains configuration files that the system uses

when the computer starts
– fstab
– group
– inittab
– login.defs
– motd
– passwd
– printcap and termcap
– profile, bashrc and rc

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 The /home Directory

• Often located on the /home partition

• Used to offer disk space for users, such as on a
system that has multiple user accounts
– Examples:
• /home/jean
• /home/tricia
• /home/joseph

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 The /lib Directory
• /lib houses:
– Kernel modules
– Security information
– Shared library images
• Used by programmers to share code rather than
creating copies in their programs
• Many files in this directory are symbolic links to
other library files
– Symbolic link: name, file name, or directory name
that contains a pointer to a file/directory in the same
directory or in another directory on your system
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 The /mnt Directory

• Mount points for temporary mounts by the system

administrator reside in /mnt
– A temporary mount is used to mount a removable
storage medium
• Example: CD/DVD or USB/flash storage
• /mnt is often divided into subdirectories to clearly
specify device types
– Example: /mnt/cdrom

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 The /media Directory

• In newer distributions of UNIX/Linux, mount points

for removable storage are in /media
– Relatively new recommendation of the Filesystem
Hierarchy Standard (FHS)
• Modern Linux distributions include both /mnt and
/media directories
– Users and programmers are often encouraged to
use /media

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 The /proc Directory

• /proc occupies no space on the disk

– Virtual file system allocated in memory only
• Files in /proc refer to various processes running on
the system as well as details about the OS kernel

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 The /root Directory

• Home directory for the root user

– The system administrator

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 The /sbin Directory

• Reserved for the system administrator

• Stores:
– Programs that start the system
– Programs needed for file system repair
– Essential network programs

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 The /tmp Directory

• Many programs need a temporary place to store

data during processing cycles
– The traditional location for these files is /tmp

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 The /usr Directory

• Houses software offered to users

– Software might be:
• Accounting programs
• Manufacturing programs
• Programs for research applications
• Office software
• Frequently located on the /usr partition

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 The /var Directory

• Located on the /var partition

• Holds subdirectories that often change in size
– These subdirectories contain files such as error logs
and other system performance logs
– Common subdirectories are:
• /var/spool/mail for incoming mail
• /var/spool/lpd for temporarily holding print files

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 Using the mount Command

• Use mount to connect the file system partitions to

the directory tree when the system starts

• Example:
mount -t iso9660 /dev/cdrom /media/cdrom
• Use umount before removing the storage media
umount /media/cdrom

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Using Paths, Pathnames, and Prompts

• Files are stored in directories in the file system,

starting from the root file system directory
• To specify a file or directory, use its pathname
– Follows the branches of the file system to the
desired file
• A forward slash (/) separates each directory name
– Example: /home/jean/source/phones.502

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 Using and Configuring Your
Command-Line Prompt
~ is shorthand for the home directory

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 The pwd Command

• pwd prints the working directory

• Useful for regular users, system administrators,

and in scripts

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 Navigating the File System

• cd stands for change directory

• Provide an absolute or relative path to the directory

– Absolute path: begins at the root level and lists all
subdirectories to the destination file
• Example: cd /home/jean/source
– Relative path: takes a shorter journey
• Example: cd source or cd

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 Using Dot and Dot Dot Addressing
Techniques
• A single dot character means the current working
directory
• Dot dot means the parent directory
• These addressing mechanisms are useful when
navigating the file system
– Example: cd ../tricia/source

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 Listing Directory Contents

• Use the ls (list) command to display a directory’s

contents, including files and other directories

Appear with a dot at the beginning

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 Listing Directory Contents (continued)
Group (root) Size (4096 bytes)
Owner (root)
Date and time of last modification

Number of links (2) File or directory name (bin)

File type and access

permissions: drwxr-xr-x

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 Using Wildcards

• Wildcard: special character that can stand for any

other character or a group of characters
– * represents any group of characters in a file name
• Example: ls *.txt
instructions.txt minutes.txt
– ? takes the place of only a single character
• Example: ls list?
list1 list2

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 Creating and Removing Directories

• mkdir is used to create a new directory

• Delete empty directories using rmdir

– Use rm -r to delete a directory that is not empty

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 Copying and Deleting Files

• Use cp to copy files and rm to delete them

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 Configuring File Permissions for
Security
• Users can set permissions for files/directories
they own so as to establish security
– System administrators also set permissions to
protect system and shared files
• Permissions manage who can read, write, or
execute files
• Original file owner of a file is the account that
created it
– File ownership can be transferred to another account

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 Configuring File Permissions for
Security (continued)

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 Configuring File Permissions for
Security (continued)

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 Configuring File Permissions for
Security (continued)
• The system administrator assigns group ids when
he or she adds a new user account
– A group id (GID) gives a group of users equal
access to files that they all share
• Using chmod to change permissions of a file:
chmod ugo+rwx myfile
chmod go-wx account_info
– Or, use the octal permission format
chmod 711 data
chmod 642 data

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 Configuring File Permissions for
Security (continued)
• Sticky bit: t (used in place of x)
– Before: caused executable program to stay resident
in memory after it was exited
– Now: enables file to be executed, but only the file’s
owner or root have permission to delete or rename it
• Set user id (SUID) bit: s (used in place of x)
– Gives current user temporary permissions to execute
program-related files as though they are the owner
• Set group ID (SGID) bit: s (used in place of x)
– Similar to SUID, but applies to groups

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 Summary
• In UNIX/Linux, a file is the basic component for data
storage
• A file system is the UNIX/Linux systems’ way of
organizing files on storage devices
• The standard tree structure starts with the root (/) file
system directory
• The section of the disk that holds a file system is
called a partition
• A path, as defined in UNIX/Linux, serves as a map to
access any file on the system

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 Summary (continued)

• You can customize your command prompt to display

useful information
• The ls command displays the names of files and
directories contained in a directory
• Wildcard characters can be used in a command and
take the place of other characters in a file name
• Use mkdir to create a new directory
• Use cp to copy a source file to a destination file
• Use chmod to set permissions for files that you own

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 Command Summary

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 Command Summary (continued)

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