File Systems: A Comprehensive Guide for Operating Systems

Question 1

What are the key benefits of distributed file systems over traditional centralized file systems?

Accepted Answer

Increased data reliability and resilience to failures

Answer

Enhanced performance for sequential data access

Answer

Simplified file management and administration

Question 2

Which file allocation method assigns a continuous block of storage to each file, resulting in faster file access but potentially causing internal fragmentation?

Accepted Answer

Contiguous Allocation

Answer

Linked Allocation

Answer

Indexed Allocation

Answer

Extent-Based Allocation

Question 3

What is the primary purpose of a file descriptor in an operating system?

Accepted Answer

To uniquely identify a specific file on a storage device

Answer

To store the contents of a file in memory

Answer

To provide access rights information for a user to a file

Answer

To allocate storage space for a new file

Question 4

Which file system characteristic refers to its ability to support multiple users accessing the same file simultaneously?

Accepted Answer

Concurrency

Answer

Reliability

Answer

Transparency

Answer

Efficiency

Question 5

In a journaling file system, what is the main function of the journal?

Accepted Answer

To maintain a chronological log of all file system updates

Answer

To store temporary files during file system operations

Answer

To allocate space for new files

Answer

To manage file permissions

Question 6

Which file system is commonly used in Linux operating systems?

Accepted Answer

ext4

Answer

FAT32

Answer

NTFS

Answer

APFS

Question 7

What is the key distinction between a hard link and a symbolic link?

Accepted Answer

A hard link references the same file inode, while a symbolic link references the file path.

Answer

A symbolic link references the same file inode, while a hard link references the file path.

Answer

A hard link is permanent, whereas a symbolic link can be broken.

Answer

A symbolic link is permanent, whereas a hard link can be broken.

Question 8

Which operation is typically not supported by a file system?

Accepted Answer

Executing programs

Answer

Creating and deleting files

Answer

Reading and writing data

Answer

Managing user permissions

Question 9

What is the primary goal of file system optimization techniques?

Accepted Answer

To enhance performance by reducing fragmentation and optimizing data placement

Answer

To increase security by encrypting file data

Answer

To expand storage capacity by compressing files

Answer

To simplify file system management tasks

Question 10

Which file allocation method assigns a fixed-size block to each file, regardless of the file's actual size?

Accepted Answer

Contiguous allocation

Answer

Indexed allocation

Answer

Linked allocation

Question 11

What is the primary purpose of a directory structure in a file system?

Accepted Answer

To organize and group files and directories logically

Answer

To store file attributes

Answer

To provide direct access to file data

Question 12

Which access control mechanism allows different users to have varying levels of access permissions to different resources?

Accepted Answer

Discretionary access control

Answer

Role-based access control

Answer

Mandatory access control

Question 13

Which directory entry attribute stores the number of bytes in a file?

Accepted Answer

File size

Answer

File type

Answer

Creation date

Question 14

What is the primary function of a file system journal?

Accepted Answer

To guarantee file system consistency in case of system failures

Answer

To improve file system performance

Answer

To provide quick access to file metadata

Question 15

What is the primary purpose of a directory structure in a file system?

Accepted Answer

To organize files and subdirectories in a hierarchical manner

Answer

To store user permissions for accessing files

Answer

To allocate disk space for files

Answer

To manage file access timestamps

Question 16

Which of the following access control mechanisms is primarily used to restrict access based on user attributes or group memberships?

Accepted Answer

Attribute-based access control (ABAC)

Answer

Access control list (ACL)

Answer

Role-based access control (RBAC)

Answer

Mandatory access control (MAC)

Question 17

What is the primary function of an inode in Unix-like file systems?

Accepted Answer

To store file metadata, including file permissions, ownership, and data block locations

Answer

To allocate disk space for files

Answer

To create and manage file links

Answer

To handle file access and sharing operations

Question 18

Which of the following is a primary benefit of using a journaling file system?

Accepted Answer

Improved data integrity by maintaining a transaction log for file system operations

Answer

Enhanced performance due to optimized file system structures

Answer

Reduced disk space requirements by eliminating redundant data

Answer

Simplified file management by providing a user-friendly interface

Question 19

What is the main purpose of a file system driver in an operating system?

Accepted Answer

To translate file system commands into low-level hardware operations

Answer

To manage memory allocation for file system processes

Answer

To provide a graphical user interface for file system operations

Answer

To store file system metadata and configuration information

Question 20

Which of the following is a common file system cache optimization technique used to improve performance?

Accepted Answer

Least recently used (LRU) algorithm, which discards the least recently accessed data

Answer

First in, first out (FIFO) algorithm, which discards the oldest data first

Answer

Least frequently used (LFU) algorithm, which discards data that has been accessed the least

Answer

Optimal replacement algorithm, which predicts the future access patterns of data

Question 21

What is the primary goal of running a file system consistency checker?

Accepted Answer

To detect and repair errors in the file system's data structures

Answer

To optimize the file system's performance by reorganizing data

Answer

To back up the file system's data to prevent data loss

Answer

To create new files and directories in the file system

Question 22

Define file fragmentation and elaborate on its adverse effects on file system performance.

Accepted Answer

File fragmentation occurs when a file is divided into multiple segments stored in non-adjacent locations on a storage device.

Answer

File fragmentation is an issue exclusive to solid-state drives (SSDs) and not encountered on traditional hard disk drives (HDDs).

Answer

File fragmentation has no significant impact on the efficiency of a file system.

Question 23

Which of the following file allocation methods assigns contiguous blocks of disk space to files?

Accepted Answer

Contiguous

Answer

Chaining

Answer

Indexed

Answer

Linked

Question 24

What is the primary function of a File Allocation Table (FAT)?

Accepted Answer

Mapping logical block addresses to physical block addresses

Answer

Storing file attributes

Answer

Managing free space on the disk

Answer

Providing access control to files

Question 25

Which directory structure arranges files and directories in a hierarchical fashion?

Accepted Answer

Tree

Answer

Flat

Answer

Linked

Answer

Inverted

Question 26

What is the purpose of access control mechanisms in file systems?

Accepted Answer

Preventing unauthorized access to files

Answer

Managing file sharing between users

Answer

Maintaining file integrity

Answer

Improving file system performance

Question 27

Which of the following is not an advantage of employing a journaling file system?

Accepted Answer

Increased file system complexity

Answer

Enhanced data integrity

Answer

Faster file system recovery

Answer

Reduced risk of data loss during power failures

Question 28

What is the fundamental distinction between a hard link and a symbolic link?

Accepted Answer

Hard links reference the same physical file, while symbolic links reference a different file

Answer

Symbolic links reference the same physical file, while hard links reference a different file

Answer

Hard links can only be created for files, while symbolic links can be created for both files and directories

Answer

Symbolic links can only be created for directories, while hard links can be created for both files and directories

Question 29

What is the primary purpose of a directory index?

Accepted Answer

Storing file names and their associated inode numbers

Answer

Providing a hierarchical representation of the file system

Answer

Managing free space on the disk

Answer

Enforcing file access control

Question 30

Which file allocation method allocates disk blocks for a file in a contiguous manner, enhancing access efficiency?

Accepted Answer

Continguous allocation

Answer

Indexed allocation

Answer

Linked allocation

Answer

Bitmapped allocation

Question 31

In a hierarchical directory structure, what do we call the directory located at the top of the hierarchy?

Accepted Answer

Root directory

Answer

Parent directory

Answer

Subdirectory

Answer

File

Question 32

Which access control mechanism grants specific access privileges to designated users or groups?

Accepted Answer

Discretionary access control (DAC)

Answer

Mandatory access control (MAC)

Answer

Role-based access control (RBAC)

Answer

Label-based access control (LBAC)

Question 33

What is the primary purpose of a file descriptor?

Accepted Answer

Providing a unique identifier for an open file

Answer

Storing the file's physical location on the disk

Answer

Maintaining file permissions and attributes

Answer

Controlling access to specific file features

Question 34

In an inode structure, which field indicates the file's size in bytes?

Accepted Answer

i_size

Answer

i_mode

Answer

i_atime

Answer

i_blocks

Question 35

What is the main advantage of utilizing a journaling file system compared to a traditional file system?

Accepted Answer

Improved data integrity

Answer

Enhanced performance

Answer

Increased scalability

Answer

Reduced file fragmentation

Question 36

Which file system feature enables the creation of file system snapshots at specific time points?

Accepted Answer

Shadow copies

Answer

Soft links

Answer

Hard links

Answer

Copy-on-write

Question 37

What is the fundamental distinction between a physical block and a logical block?

Accepted Answer

Physical blocks represent the actual storage space on disk, whereas logical blocks are used by the file system

Answer

Physical blocks are smaller than logical blocks

Answer

Logical blocks are always contiguous, but physical blocks may not be

Answer

There is no difference between physical and logical blocks

Question 38

Which file system is particularly optimized for managing large files and directories?

Accepted Answer

NTFS

Answer

FAT32

Answer

ext4

Answer

HFS+

Question 39

Which file system approach is tailored specifically for cloud computing and big data applications?

Accepted Answer

Object-based storage

Answer

Distributed file systems

Answer

Log-structured file systems

Answer

Hierarchical file systems

Question 40

Which file allocation method assigns a contiguous block of storage for a file, regardless of its size?

Accepted Answer

Contiguous allocation

Answer

Indexed allocation

Answer

Linked allocation

Question 41

In a hierarchical directory structure, which directory contains all other directories and files?

Accepted Answer

Root directory

Answer

Parent directory

Answer

Subdirectory

Answer

Working directory

Question 42

Which access control mechanism restricts users to accessing files and directories only within a specific group?

Accepted Answer

Group permissions

Answer

Other permissions

Answer

User permissions

Answer

World permissions

Question 43

What is the primary purpose of a File Allocation Table (FAT) in FAT file systems?

Accepted Answer

To track which clusters are allocated to a file

Answer

To store file names and attributes

Answer

To map logical blocks to physical blocks

Question 44

Which of the following is an advantage of using a journaling file system?

Accepted Answer

Enhanced data integrity during system failures

Answer

Increased performance

Answer

Reduced storage space

Question 45

What is the primary function of a virtual file system (VFS)?

Accepted Answer

To provide a unified interface for accessing different file system types

Answer

To increase file system operation speed

Answer

To guarantee data security

Question 46

Which characteristic distinguishes a distributed file system (DFS)?

Accepted Answer

Files are stored across multiple servers

Answer

Files are always stored locally

Answer

Access is limited to a single user

Answer

Performance is consistently slower than local file systems

Question 47

In Unix-like file systems, what is the role of an inode?

Accepted Answer

To store metadata information about a file or directory

Answer

To control access to files and directories

Answer

To contain the actual data of a file

Answer

To manage disk space allocation

Question 48

Which file system type is optimized for solid-state drives (SSDs)?

Accepted Answer

NVMe file system

Answer

NTFS file system

Answer

FAT file system

Question 49

What is the primary purpose of a swap file or swap partition in an operating system?

Accepted Answer

To extend the amount of physical memory available to the system

Answer

To create backups of critical system files

Answer

To store frequently accessed files for faster retrieval

Question 50

Which file allocation method assigns contiguous blocks of fixed size to files, potentially leading to internal and external fragmentation?

Accepted Answer

Fixed-Size Block Allocation

Answer

Linked Allocation

Answer

Indexed Allocation

Answer

Bitmap Allocation

Question 51

Which access control mechanism enables users to set permissions on a file or directory based on user groups?

Accepted Answer

Group Permissions

Answer

World Permissions

Answer

User Permissions

Answer

Owner Permissions

Question 52

What is a key advantage of a hierarchical file system over a flat file system?

Accepted Answer

Enhanced organization and simplified file retrieval

Answer

Improved data security

Answer

Increased file storage capacity

Answer

Reduced file fragmentation

Question 53

Which file system feature allows for the creation of multiple logical file systems on a single physical disk?

Accepted Answer

Partitioning

Answer

File Compression

Answer

File Encryption

Question 54

What is the purpose of a file system cache?

Accepted Answer

Enhance performance by storing frequently accessed data in memory

Answer

Strengthen data security

Answer

Increase storage capacity

Question 55

Which file system feature provides a mechanism for recovering data from corrupted or damaged storage devices?

Accepted Answer

RAID

Answer

File Encryption

Answer

File Compression

Answer

Disk Quotas

Question 56

What is the distinction between a hard link and a symbolic link?

Accepted Answer

A hard link creates an additional reference to an existing file, while a symbolic link creates a pointer to the file.

Answer

A hard link can only be created for files, whereas a symbolic link can be created for both files and directories.

Question 57

What is the primary advantage of using a journaling file system?

Accepted Answer

Ensures data integrity by tracking and recovering from incomplete or failed write operations.

Answer

Improves file access speed

Answer

Provides enhanced file security

Question 58

Which file system feature enables administrators to set storage limits for different users or groups?

Accepted Answer

Disk Quotas

Answer

File Compression

Answer

File Encryption

Answer

RAID