Do you know why the file system is so important? How does it affect the operation of your computer?

In computing, a filing system is the basis for organizing and accessing files. Whether local or distributed, file systems play a key role in ensuring that applications can effectively manage data storage. Without a file system, applications will not be able to access storage space in a compatible way, which can lead to resource conflicts, data corruption, or even data loss.

A file system is a data storage service that allows applications to share mass storage.

As technology advances, many different designs and implementations of file systems have emerged, including file systems for hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), and optical disks. Additionally, part of the computer's memory can be configured as a RAM disk to serve as storage for the file system. These file systems ensure the data security of users by providing efficient data management.

File System Architecture

The architecture of an archive system can be viewed as having multiple layers of abstraction, although a particular archive system design may not actually separate these concepts. From the logical file system level, it provides an application programming interface (API) for file operations such as opening, closing, reading, and writing, and forwards these operations to lower-level implementations.

This layer manages the entries in the open file table and the file descriptors for each process, and also provides file access, directory operations, and security protection.

The physical file system layer provides low-level access to storage devices, is responsible for reading and writing data blocks, and controls the specific placement of data on the storage media. These structures ensure that archives can be stored and retrieved effectively, and provide convenient operability for users.

File name and directory

The archive name is an important part of identifying the archive. In archive systems that support directories, uniqueness of archive names is usually enforced within the context of each directory. At the same time, the directory structure can be flat (linear) or support hierarchical structure, which is convenient for organizing files.

File systems usually support organizing files into directories, also called folders, which allow files to be separated into groups.

In the local file system of Unix-like systems, arbitrary directory hierarchies and subdirectory structures are supported, making file management more flexible and efficient.

File System Properties

In addition to the data content, the archive system also manages the metadata associated with it, which may include the file name, size, last access time, owner, user and group access rights, etc. These metadata are crucial for resource management and can effectively ensure the integrity and security of data.

The archive system stores metadata separately from archive content to achieve more efficient data management.

In addition, many modern archive systems allow users to add additional attributes to archives, which makes archive customization and management more flexible. Specifically, some file systems can even support file versions so that users can access different file revisions.

Data Integrity and Security

Another key function of an archival system is to ensure the security and integrity of data. The archive system maintains data consistency during normal operations and unexpected situations, and can effectively perform data recovery operations.

This includes protecting data by updating metadata and handling buffered data in the event of an unexpected operating system crash or media failure.

Accordingly, obtaining access control of the file system also allows users to set different access permissions, thereby ensuring the security of files and preventing them from being accessed by unauthorized users.

Conclusion

Therefore, the file system is crucial to the operation of the computer, affecting not only the management and access of data, but also the performance and security of the overall system. As technology develops, we will witness changes and innovations in archival systems. Will this have an impact on the way we manage data?

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