Ubuntu Linux Fundamentals
Ubuntu Server - Linux Filesystem - Overview
Now we’re going to have a look at the Linux Filesystem.
There are literally thousands of directories, sub directories, and files on a Linux installation.
How do you know where your stuff should go?
We’ll cover the basics, which should get you through typical use cases, and also where to find
more information if you need it.
There are two high level sources we’ll discuss in the following lessons.
hier Man Page
Ubuntu is one of the Linux distributions that has a hier (for hierarchy) man page.
You can type man hier at any time and search for the directory you’re interested in knowing
more about.
To search for information on the /opt directory, for example, you would open the hier man
page, and type the / then the text you’re interested in.
/opt
There are many instances of opt (as in optional), so hit n until we get to the one we’re
interested in, /opt.
If you want to go only entries with “/opt”, you can type
//opt
/opt is the directory you would use to install a program that is not part of the managed
package system.
When we install the Lynis security auditing tool, in a later lesson, for example, it will go here.
The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard
You can also turn to version 2.3 of the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS).
Version 2.3 was released in 2004, so this isn’t a very active project, but it is a resource you can
use for looking up how things should be done.
Bear in mind, Distro’s are not required to put things in any specific directories, so you will see
some variation between them.
That said, the general layout should be intelligible, once you understand where things belong.
More Information
Link to .pdf version of the FHS on [Link]
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