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The Linux Virtual File-system Layer

Neil Brown neilb@cse.unsw.edu.au and others.

29 December 1999 - v1.6

The Linux operating system supports multiple different file-systems, including ext2 (the Second Extended file-system), nfs (the Network File-system), FAT (The MS-DOS File Allocation Table file system), and others. To enable the upper levels of the kernel to deal equally with all of these and other file-systems, Linux defines an abstract layer, known as the Virtual File-system, or vfs. Each lower level file-system must present an interface which conforms to this Virtual file-system. This document describes the vfs interface (as present in Linux 2.3.29). NOTE this document is incomplete.

1. Introduction

2. Objects and Methods

3. Registering and Mounting a file-system

4. The Super-Block and its operations

5. The File and its Operations

6. Names, or dentrys

7. Inodes and Operations

8. Locking

9. Credits

10. Scribbled notes

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