Disk Operations in Linux - Notes By ShariqSP

Managing Disks in Linux

Checking Disk Usage

To monitor disk usage and free space, you can use several commands. The most common ones are df and du.

df -h

In this command:

  • df -h displays the disk space usage for all mounted filesystems in a human-readable format (e.g., GB, MB).
du -sh /path/to/directory

In this command:

  • du -sh /path/to/directory shows the disk usage of a specific directory in a human-readable format.

Formatting Disks

Formatting a disk prepares it for use by creating a filesystem. The mkfs command is used to format disks with various filesystems such as ext4, ntfs, and vfat.

sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdX1

In this command:

  • sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdX1 formats the partition /dev/sdX1 with the ext4 filesystem. Replace sdX1 with the appropriate device identifier.

To format with a different filesystem, replace ext4 with ntfs, vfat, etc.

Mounting and Unmounting Disks

Mounting a disk makes it accessible at a certain point in the filesystem hierarchy, while unmounting disconnects it. Use the mount and umount commands for these operations.

sudo mount /dev/sdX1 /mnt/point

In this command:

  • sudo mount /dev/sdX1 /mnt/point mounts the partition /dev/sdX1 to the directory /mnt/point. Replace sdX1 and /mnt/point with the appropriate device and mount point.
sudo umount /mnt/point

In this command:

  • sudo umount /mnt/point unmounts the filesystem mounted at /mnt/point.

Checking Disk Health

To check the health of your disk and filesystem, you can use the fsck command. This command checks and repairs filesystem inconsistencies.

sudo fsck /dev/sdX1

In this command:

  • sudo fsck /dev/sdX1 checks and repairs the filesystem on the partition /dev/sdX1. Replace sdX1 with the appropriate device identifier.

Note: It's best to run fsck when the filesystem is not mounted to avoid data corruption.

Conclusion

Understanding and managing disk operations in Linux is essential for maintaining system performance and data integrity. Regularly checking disk usage, formatting disks, and monitoring disk health ensures that your Linux environment remains stable and reliable.

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