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Module 8 Final Quiz: File Systems & Storage MCQs
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1
What is an Inode in Unix/Linux file systems?
A.
The graphical desktop icon for a file
B.
A data structure that stores all file metadata (permissions, owner, size, timestamps, data block pointers) EXCEPT the file name
C.
A network socket for remote file transfer
D.
A temporary file in the /tmp directory
Explanation & Key
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2
How does a Hard Link differ from a Soft (Symbolic) Link in Unix file systems?
A.
Hard links point to the file path; soft links point to the inode
B.
A hard link points directly to the underlying inode and shares the same inode number as the original file; a soft link is an independent file containing the pathname string to the target file
C.
Deleting the original file breaks a hard link
D.
Hard links can cross different file system partitions; soft links cannot
Explanation & Key
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3
What is the primary drawback of Contiguous File Allocation on disk?
A.
Slow sequential read performance
B.
Severe external fragmentation and the requirement to know file size in advance at creation time
C.
High pointer overhead in each disk block
D.
Inability to perform direct random access
Explanation & Key
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4
What is the major vulnerability of Linked File Allocation?
A.
Extreme external fragmentation
B.
Poor random access (requires traversing $k-1$ blocks to reach block $k$) and vulnerability to corruption if a single pointer breaks
C.
Wasted space inside the inode
D.
Cannot store files larger than 4 GB
Explanation & Key
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5
How does Indexed File Allocation (used in Unix/ext4) achieve both fast random access and zero external fragmentation?
A.
By allocating one massive contiguous partition for all files
B.
By bringing all block pointers together into an index block (inode), allowing direct $O(1)$ lookups of block addresses without disk searching
C.
By storing entire files inside RAM cache
D.
By eliminating directory structures
Explanation & Key
Correct Answer:
6
In a Unix inode with 12 direct pointers, 1 single indirect pointer, 1 double indirect pointer, and 4 KB block size, how large can a file be using just the direct pointers?
A.
12 KB
B.
48 KB ($12 \times 4\text{ KB}$)
C.
1 MB
D.
4 GB
Explanation & Key
Correct Answer:
7
What is the File Allocation Table (FAT) used in MS-DOS and early Windows?
A.
A table stored in CPU cache
B.
A centralized table stored at the beginning of the volume containing the linked-list block pointers for all files, allowing faster traversal than on-disk pointers
C.
A database of user passwords
D.
A hardware partition on the motherboard
Explanation & Key
Correct Answer:
8
What is the purpose of Journaling in modern file systems (e.g. ext4, NTFS, XFS)?
A.
To record daily user activity logs for marketing
B.
To guarantee file system consistency across sudden power failures by writing metadata updates to a sequential circular log (journal) before committing them to disk structures
C.
To compress files automatically
D.
To encrypt disk sectors
Explanation & Key
Correct Answer:
9
Why is a Tree-Structured Directory the dominant directory structure in modern operating systems?
A.
Because it does not support subdirectories
B.
Because it allows users to organize files hierarchically with full path names, prevents naming conflicts across users, and enables intuitive navigation
C.
Because it requires zero memory
D.
Because files cannot be deleted
Explanation & Key
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10
What is the Free-Space Management technique using a Bit Vector (Bitmap)?
A.
A vector of pointers to bad disk sectors
B.
An array of bits where each bit corresponds to one physical disk block (0 = allocated, 1 = free), enabling fast block discovery via hardware bit-scan instructions
C.
A linked list of deleted files
D.
A table of user quotas
Explanation & Key
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