Inode: Explanation & Insights
An Inode (index node) is a data structure in the Unix-style file system that describes a file-system object such as a file or a directory. Each inode stores the attributes and disk block locations of the file-system objects it represents. It does not, however, contain file names, only metadata about the file itself. This is a crucial concept to understand when managing your Linux server and VMs.
Why are Inodes Important?
Inodes are vital to the functioning of the Linux file system. They provide the system with important details about files and directories. Without inodes, the system wouldn't know the size, owner, or permissions of a file or directory. Understanding how inodes work can help you in troubleshooting various file system-related problems.
File Metadata and Inodes
An inode stores metadata about a file or directory like its size, owner, and permissions. It also includes timestamps
for file creation, last access, and last modification. You can view the inode information of a file with
the ls command by using the -i option.
ls -li
This will display the inode number and file details. The first column represents the inode number.
Inode and Directories
Inodes play a significant role in the management of directories. Each entry in a directory is a pair consisting of an inode number and a filename. The inode number points to the actual data, and the filename is just a human-readable alias. This is why it's possible to have hard links, multiple directory entries (filenames), pointing to the same inode (file data).
Inode Limitations
One common problem you may encounter is running out of inodes. This typically happens if there are a large number of
very small files in the file system. When the file system is created, it is designed to support a certain number of
inodes, and once it's used up, no new files can be created, even if there is available disk space. You can check the
number of used and free inodes with the df command.
df -i
Inodes and Hard Links
As mentioned before, an inode can be associated with multiple filenames via hard links. To create a hard link, you can
use the ln command.
ln source_file link_name
This will create a new filename 'linkname' that points to the same inode as 'sourcefile'. Both filenames will effectively be the same file.
Inodes and File Deletion
An interesting aspect of inodes is how they handle file deletion. When a file is deleted with
the rm command, the link to the inode is removed, but the inode and its data are not immediately
deleted. Only when all links to the inode are removed and no processes are using the file is the inode finally marked as
free and its data blocks returned to the system.
