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The Key Concepts Within Modern File Systems

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2 Abstract
This essay will discuss the key concepts within modern file systems, ranging from simply defining what a filesystem is, to detailing what exactly a file consists of. Historical developments within file systems and storage technologies will be outlined, and state-of-the-art file system features will be described.
3 Introduction
Procrustes was an ancient Attican malefactor who forced wayfarers to lie on an iron bed and either stretched or cut short each person’s legs to fit the bed’s length. Finally Procrustes was forced onto his own bed by Thesius.
A similar Procrustean technique was applied to filesystems and data storage for many years. System architecture, data record / file formats and structures being twisted to fit many …show more content…

By separating the data into identifiable blocks, the information can be easily located. (1) Each grouping of data, which takes its name from the method of organising paper-based information, is referred to as a “file”. The file system is comprised of two specific parts: a collection of files and a directory structure, which provides data about and organises all of the files in the file system. (3) Some filesystems will be used on local data storage devices, whereas others provide access over a network, through a network protocol such as NFS. (2)
A filesystem can refer to an entire storage system or part of an isolated segment of storage, i.e. a disk partition. The word ‘filesystem’ can be used to refer to a partition or disk that is used to store files or as part of the description of the type of filesystem in use. For example, one could say “this is an ‘extended filesystem’” in reference to the type of filesystem in use, or “I have three filesystems” meaning that one has three partitions on which one can store files. (4) There is an incredibly important difference between a disk or partition and the filesystem that it contains. Some programs will operate directly on sectors of a disk or partition, so they could desolate or seriously corrupt any current filesystem. However, most programs operate at the filesystem level, and subsequently will not operate correctly on a disk or partition that either does not contain a

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