Understanding the File Tree

The AIX file tree organizes files into directories containing similar information. This organization facilitates remote mounting of directories and files. System administrators can use these directories as building blocks to construct a unique file tree for each client mounting individual directories from one or more servers. Mounting files and directories remotely, rather than keeping all information local, has the following advantages:

• Conserves disk space.
• Allows easy, centralized system administration.
• Provides a more secure environment.

The AIX file tree has the following characteristics:

• Files that can be shared by machines of the same hardware architecture are located in the /usr file system.
• Variable per-client files, such as spool and mail files, are located in the /var file system.
• Architecture-independent, shareable text files, such as manual pages, are located in the /usr/share directory.
• The / (root) file system contains files and directories critical for system operation. For example, it contains a device directory, programs used for system boot, and mount points where file systems can be mounted onto the root file system.
• The /home file system is the mount point for user home directories.
• For servers, the /export directory contains paging-space files, per-client (unshared) root file systems, dump, home, and /usr/share directories for diskless clients, as well as exported /usr directories.

For information about the contents of a specific file system or directory, see the following:

• Understanding the Root File System
• Understanding the /usr File System
• Understanding the /usr/share Directory
• Understanding the /var File System
• Understanding the /export Directory