Directories

• /etc - Configuration Files

  • Note that the /etc/ directory contains system-wide configuration files – user-specific configuration files are located in each user’s home directory.

• /bin – Essential User Binaries

  • The /bin directory contains the essential user binaries (programs) that must be present when the system is mounted in single-user mode. Applications such as Firefox are stored in /usr/bin, while important system programs and utilities such as the bash shell are located in /bin. The /usr directory may be stored on another partition – placing these files in the /bin directory ensures the system will have these important utilities even if no other file systems are mounted. The /sbin directory is similar – it contains essential system administration binaries.

• /usr – User Binaries & Read-Only Data

• /var – Variable Data Files

• /srv – Service Data

  • The /srv directory contains “data for services provided by the system.” If you were using the Apache HTTP server to serve a website, you’d likely store your website’s files in a directory inside the /srv directory.

• /lib – Essential Shared Libraries

  • The /lib directory contains libraries needed by the essential binaries in the /bin and /sbin folder. Libraries needed by the binaries in the /usr/bin folder are located in /usr/lib.