File system types (ext4, xfs) in Linux CLI - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

Identify the file system type of a mounted partition

You run the command df -T /home on a Linux system. What is the expected output format for the file system type column?

Linux CLI

df -T /home

A Shows the file system size in the second column

B Shows the mount point path in the second column

C Shows the file system type like ext4 or xfs in the second column

D Shows the disk usage percentage in the second column

💡 Hint

The -T option in df shows the file system type.

The df -T command lists disk space usage and includes the file system type in the second column, such as ext4 or xfs.

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Difference between ext4 and xfs file systems

Which statement correctly describes a key difference between ext4 and xfs file systems?

A xfs is optimized for large files and parallel I/O, ext4 is more general-purpose

B ext4 supports journaling, but xfs does not

C ext4 cannot be resized while mounted, xfs can be resized online

D xfs is the default file system for all Linux distributions

💡 Hint

Think about performance and typical use cases for each file system.

xfs is designed for high-performance with large files and parallel I/O workloads, while ext4 is a versatile, general-purpose file system.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Fix the error when creating an xfs file system

You run mkfs.xfs /dev/sdb1 but get an error: Device or resource busy. What is the most likely cause?

A The partition is formatted with ext4 already

B The partition /dev/sdb1 is currently mounted

C The device /dev/sdb1 does not exist

D The xfs tools are not installed

💡 Hint

Check if the device is in use before formatting.

You cannot format a partition that is currently mounted. Unmount it first to avoid the 'Device or resource busy' error.

🚀 Application

advanced

Mount an ext4 file system with specific options

You want to mount an ext4 partition at /mnt/data with read-only access and no execution of binaries. Which mount command is correct?

A mount -o ro,noexec /dev/sdc1 /mnt/data

B mount -t ext4 -o rw,exec /dev/sdc1 /mnt/data

C mount -t xfs -o ro,noexec /dev/sdc1 /mnt/data

D mount -t ext4 -o ro,noexec /dev/sdc1 /mnt/data

💡 Hint

Specify the file system type and options explicitly.

Option D correctly specifies ext4 file system type with read-only and no execution options.

💻 Command Output

expert

Output of xfs_info command on an xfs partition

What kind of information does the xfs_info /dev/sdd1 command provide?

A Detailed metadata about the xfs file system including block size and inode size

B Current disk usage statistics like free and used space

C List of files and directories on the partition

D Partition table layout of the disk

💡 Hint

Think about file system structure details, not usage or file listing.

xfs_info shows metadata details such as block size, inode size, and allocation groups of the xfs file system.