Devices and file systems

Linux provides tools to manage disk partitions and file systems. A system administrator should be able to:

• Understand the PC architecture concerning hard disks
• Manage partitions (i.e. display information, create, delete, modify, etc.)
• Create a file system on a new partition (e.g. ext3, swap)

A file system can only be used when mounted. It is important to know how to:

• Create a mount point
• Mount (and unmount) a file system
• Mount using labels and UUIDs
• Manage fstab
• Manage swap

Of course, as soon as data exists on a file system, it is important to monitor the system regularly:

• Check an existing file system
• Monitor free space using df
• Monitor usage using du
• Monitor SMART status using smartctl

In a file system where users are allowed to create files, it is sometimes important to be able to impose user quotas. A Linux system administrator should be able to:

• Set up quota for an existing file system
• Use quotaon and quotaoff
• Set limits with edquota (and understanding soft and hard limits)
• Check quotas using quota
• Produce reports using repquota
• Warn users using warnquota