linux filesystem structure | file types | blocks | inodes | superblock | dumpe2fs | mkfs | partition
Every file under a filesystem has a special number called an inode. The inode is where the OS stores the properties of the file and contains the following information: - The file type such as regular, directory, special, link, socket, pipe, or block device - The owner and group information - The permissions of the file (more on this in Chapter 5, Permissions, Access, and Security) - Date and time on which the file was created and when last changed or read - The file size - The inode contains some other information as well Things that are not available in the inode are the full path and name of the file itself. This is stored in the /proc filesystem under the PID (process ID) of the process that owns the file. The superblock is what ties all of the inodes together on a filesystem . It contains all of the information needed to manage the files. Being very important to the system, most Linux filesystems have a backup copy of the superblock at regular in...