File Systems

Windows NT and Solaris' file structures are very different. Windows prefers a deep file structure under the winnt directory (c:\winnt). Solaris on the other hand prefers a file structure that is split over many directories from the root (\). I will start with the names of the Solaris file structure and their definitions.

/ This is the root file directory housing the following directories.

/bin Bin houses the executable files for the system others are /usr/bin, /sbin, and /usr/ubc.

/dev This is the device directory, it is used for the physical disks, tape drives, and terms.

/etc This directory is mainly for configuration files, most importantly the system boot scripts.

/lost+found Houses files that were lost due to an unexpected system failure, these files are found when fsck is performed.

/lib Holds libraries for programming languages like C and fortran

/mnt This is an empty directory reserved for mounting remove file systems like a CD Rom or other partition. /tmp Used as a scratch directory and swap space for memory, remember to clear this directory every once and awhile.

/home Used to house user's home directories.

/usr Used for local programs and packages.

/usr/adm Administrative tools like Top, and any locally created tools.

/usr/include Houses C header files, I/O, and math libraries.

/usr/lib More programming libraries along with the libraries for X.

/usr/local Locally created/used executables for public access.

/usr/man The man files for the system are in this directory in order of importance.

/var Houses printer termcaps, printing, and mail files.

/var/spool Used for spooling printing, mail, and cron jobs.

/var/spool/mail Mail directory for user's mail file used for incoming mail.


NT has a some what different structure. Top level directories that are important are:

c:\ top level directory that houses the paging file.

c:\program files For putting common programs for users.

c:\winnt (or wherever you install nt) This directory houses all the important stuff:

c:\winnt\inf Holds all the inf files that configure some programs.

c:\winnt\profiles This is where your users environment settings are held.

c:\winnt\repair Houses your original system configuration.

c:\winnt\system This directory contains most system files (*.sys) for controlling the system and some fonts.

c:\winnt\system32 Contains 32-bit "old DOS" commands and some other non essential commands