1.3 The Process of Managing File Systems

You should understand in advance what you must do to set up file systems on a ChorusOS system and in what order to perform the necessary steps. The following list summarizes the stages of file system administration for ChorusOS systems.

1. Configuring the system image

   You must include support for file systems in the system image in order to use the functionality described in this guide. Configuring the system image for file system support involves setting features and tunables to support the media and file system types you want to use, editing the built-in system initialization script to create special files for accessing the media, and then rebuilding the properly configured system image for use on the ChorusOS target system.

   This stage is generally completed only once for a given system.

2. Preparing local media

   Local media must be labelled in order to support file systems. If you have local flash memory, it must also be formatted before it is labelled.

   This stage is generally completed only once for each device.

3. Creating file systems

   You create new file systems on the available partitions on local media. This involves writing file system structures to devices attached to the ChorusOS system.

   This stage is generally completed only once for a given system.

4. Checking and mounting file systems

   Before mounting a local file system, you check it for errors. After the check is complete and any errors in the file system have been repaired, you mount the file system into the file system hierarchy. If the file system is being mounted over the network through NFS, you mount it without performing a check. Once mounted, the contents of the file system are available for use.

   This stage is performed each time you use a file system.

5. (Optional) Exporting local UFS file systems through NFS

   If you have local UFS file systems that you want to make available over the network, you export them through NFS. This stage involves editing several configuration files and starting the daemon actors that make your target system an NFS server. This guide assumes you have a working network connection that makes exporting through NFS possible.

   File system export is often set up only once for a given system. Daemons may be started as part of system initialization.

6. (Optional) Unmounting file systems

   If you need to remove a file system from the hierarchy, you unmount it. This stage may be performed during normal system use, but is usually performed as part of system shutdown.

This document includes instructions to guide you through each stage of the process of managing file systems.