Glossary (File System Administration)

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File System Administration

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Administration Tool: A tool from which you can access various applications for administering systems.
archive: A copy of files on secondary media. The files are removed from the system because they are no longer active.
autofs: Software that automatically mounts a directory when a user changes into it, and unmounts the directory when it is no longer in use.
auto_home database: The database that you use to add home directories to autofs. You access the auto_home database using the Database Manager.
backup schedule: The schedule you establish for a site that determines when you run the ufsdump command. Use ufsdump regularly at different levels to back up user files and essential file systems.
bang: An exclamation point (!) that acts as a single-character UNIX command or as a separator between the routes of a route-based email address.

boot block: An 8-Kbyte disk block that contains information used during booting, including block numbers that point to the location of the /boot program on the disk. The boot block directly follows the disk label.
booting: The process of powering up a system, testing to determine which attached hardware devices are running, and bringing the operating system kernel into memory and operation at the run level specified by the boot command.
cache: A small, fast memory area that holds the most active part of a larger and slower memory.
core file: An image of the state of the software when it failed, used for troubleshooting. core files can be created by any software, including the operating system kernel.
crash: See hang.
cylinder group: One or more consecutive disk cylinders that include inode slots for files.
cylinder group map: A bit map in a UFS file system that stores information about block use and availability within each cylinder. The cylinder group replaces the traditional free list.
crash dump: A core file image of the operating system kernel that is saved in the swap partition when a system crashes. If crash dumps are enabled, the core image is written from the swap partition to a file.
daemon: A special type of program that, once activated, starts itself and carries out a specific task without any need for user input. Daemons are typically used to handle jobs that have been queued such as printing, mail, and communication.
Database Manager: A tool accessed from the Administration Tool software, which is used to administer NIS+ tables and UFS files in the /etc directory. You can also use the Database Manager to look at (but not edit) the contents of NIS maps.

diskette: A nonvolatile storage medium used to store and access data magnetically. SunOS system software supports 3.5-inch double-sided high density (DS, HD) diskettes.
disk quotas: A mechanism for controlling how much of a file system's resources any individual user can access. Disk quotas are optional and must be configured and administered to be used.
diskless client: A system with no local disk drive, that relies on an NFS server for the operating system, swap space, file storage, and other basic services.
domain: A directory structure for electronic mail addressing and network address naming. Within the United States, top-level domains include com for commercial organizations, edu for educational organizations, gov for governments, mil for the military, net for networking organizations, and org for other organizations. Outside of the United States, top-level domains designate the country. Subdomains designate the organization and the individual system.
domain addressing: Using a domain address to specify the destination of an electronic mail message.
DS, HD: Double-sided, high density. The type of 3.5-inch diskettes supported by the SunOS system software.
dump: The process of copying directories onto media (usually tape) for offline storage, using the ufsdump command.
electronic mail: A set of programs that transmit mail messages from one system to another, usually over communications lines. Electronic mail is frequently referred to as email.
email: See electronic mail.

environment variable: A system- or user-defined variable that provides information about the operating environment to the shell.
file system: A hierarchical arrangement of directories and files.
floppy diskette: See diskette.
free list: See cylinder group map.
full backup: A complete, level 0 backup of a file system done using the ufsdump command.
fully qualified domain name: A domain name that contains all of the elements needed to specify where an electronic mail message should be delivered. See also domain.
gateway: A system that handles electronic mail traffic between differing communications networks.
GID: The group identification number used by the system to control access to accounts owned by other users.
group database: The database that you use to create new group accounts or to modify existing group accounts. You access the group database from the Database Manager.
hang: A condition where a system does not respond to input from the keyboard or mouse.
hard limit: For disk quotas, a maximum limit on file system resources (blocks and inodes) that users cannot exceed.
home directory: The part of the file system allocated to an individual user for private files.

hosts database: The database that you use to control network security. You access the hosts database from the Database Manager.
incremental backup: A partial backup of a file system using the ufsdump command that includes only those files in the specified file system that have changed since a previous backup at a lower level.
initialization files: The "dot" files (files prefixed with ".") in a user's home directory that set the path, environment variables, windowing environment, and other characteristics to get users up and functioning.
init state: One of the seven initialization states, or run levels, a system can be running. A system can run in only one init state at a time.
inode: An entry in a predesignated area of a disk that describes where a file is located on that disk, the size of the file, when it was last used, and other identification information.
IP address: A unique internet protocol number that identifies each system in a network.
kernel: The master program set of SunOS software that manages all the physical resources of the computer, including file system management, virtual memory, reading and writing files to disks and tapes, scheduling of processes, printing, and communicating over a network.
login name: The name assigned to an individual user that controls access to a system.
monitor: The program in the PROM that provides a limited set of commands that can be used before the kernel is available.
mount point: A directory in the file system hierarchy where another file system is attached to the hierarchy.

NIS: The SunOS 4.x network information service.
NIS+: The SunOS 5.x network information service.
NFS: The default SunOS distributed file system that provides file sharing among systems. NFS servers can also provide kernels and swap files to diskless clients.
parse: To divide a string of characters or a series of words into parts to determine their collective meaning. Virtually every program that accepts command input must do some sort of parsing before the commands can be acted upon. For example, the sendmail program divides an email address into parts to decide where to send the message.
partition: A discrete portion of a disk, configured using the format program.
passwd database: The database that you use to add, modify, or delete user accounts. You access the passwd database from the Database Manager.
path: The list of directories that are searched to find an executable command.
path name: A list of directory names, separated with slashes (/), that specifies the location of a particular file.
port: A physical connection between the device controller and a peripheral device such as a terminal, printer, or modem.
power cycling: Turning the system power off and then on again.
preen: To run fsck with the -o p option, which automatically fixes any basic file system inconsistencies normally found when a system halts abruptly, without trying to repair more serious errors.

Printer Manager: A tool accessed from the Administration Tool, which is used to add printers to both print servers and print clients. The Printer Manager automatically updates the LP system files and the Service Access Facility files required to configure port monitors for printing.
process: A program in operation.
PROM: Programmable read-only memory. A chip containing permanent, nonvolatile memory and a limited set of commands used to test the system and start the boot process.
request for comments (RFC): The document series, begun in 1969, which describes the Internet suite of protocols and related experiments. Not all (in fact very few) RFCs describe Internet standards, but all Internet standards are written up as RFCs.
RFC: See request for comments.
run level: See init state.
server: A system that provides network service such as disk storage and file transfer, or a program that provides such a service.
shell: The command interpreter for a user, specified in the passwd database. The SunOS system software supports the Bourne (default), C, and Korn shells.
slice: An alternate name for a partition. See partition.
soft limit: For disk quotas, a limit on file system resources (blocks and inodes) that users can temporarily exceed. Exceeding the soft limit starts a timer. When users exceed the soft limit for the specified time period (default one week), no further system resources are allocated until the user reduces file system use to below the soft limit.

spooling directory: A directory where files are stored until they are processed.
spooling space: The amount of space allocated on a print server for storing requests in the printer queue.
standalone system: A system that has a local disk and can boot without relying on a server.
state flag: A flag in the superblock that the fsck file system check program updates to record the condition of a file system. If a file system state flag is clean, the fsck program is not run on that file system.
striping: Combining one or more physical disks (or disk partitions) into a single logical disk. The logical disk is viewed by the operating system like any other disk-based file system.
superblock: A block on a disk that contains information about a file system, such as its name, size in blocks, and so on. Each file system has its own superblock.
superuser: A user with special privileges granted if the correct password is supplied when logging in as root or using the su command. For example, only the superuser can edit major administrative files in the /etc directory.
swap file: A disk partition or file used to temporarily hold the contents of a memory area until it can be loaded back into memory.
symbolic link: A file that contains a pointer to the name of another file.
system: A computer with a keyboard and terminal. A system can have either local or remote disks, and may have additional peripheral devices such as CD-ROM players, tape drives, diskette drives, and printers.
UID number: The user identification number assigned to each login name. UID numbers are used by the system to identify, by number, the owners of files and directories.

UFS: UNIX file system. The default disk-based file system for the SunOS operating system.
user account: An account set up for an individual user in the passwd database that specifies the user's login name, UID, GID, login directory, and login shell.
user mask: The setting that controls default file permissions assigned when a file or directory is created. The umask command controls the user mask settings.
virtual memory: A memory management technique used by the operating system for programs that require more space in memory than can be allotted to them. The kernel moves only pages of the program currently needed into memory, while unneeded pages remain on the disk.
zombie: A process that has terminated but remains in the process table because its parent process has not sent the proper exit code. Zombie processes are removed from the process table when a system is rebooted and do not consume any system resources.