Understanding Networking Basics
The Structure of the File System
The Structure of the File System
The bindery and NetWare Directory Services help you manage network resources such as NetWare servers and printers, but they do not provide control over the file system (volumes, directories, and files). Graphical and text utilities help you manage both network resources and the file system.
The file system structure is separate from the bindery or NetWare Directory Services structure. Physically, all network information is stored on hard disks that are controlled by a server. But logically, the file system is represented in NetWare 2 and 3 as a volume and in NetWare 4 as a Volume object. This volume is managed under Bindery emulation provided in NetWare 4.
Three types of structures make up the file system: volumes, directories, and files.
The File Structure for NetWare 2 and NetWare 3
The file structure in NetWare 2 and NetWare 3 begins with the file server. The physical hard disks in a file server are divided into volumes, much like a set of books. A volume can contain several physical hard disks, or a single hard disk can be divided into multiple volumes.
A volume marks the base of each directory structure. It appears and acts like a DOS root directory or disk drive. Directories are stored at the volume level and subdirectory levels. Files are stored within directories and subdirectories in the same manner as the DOS operating system stores files.
The following figure shows how the file structure of NetWare 2 and 3 networks works.