Which file access method reads records in order, one after another, and is the most common mechanism used by traditional magnetic tape systems?
Option C is correct. Sequential Access reads information in the file in order, one record after another. It is the simplest and most common access method, natively supported by magnetic tapes.
In UNIX/Linux file systems, which metadata data structure stores all essential file details such as file size, ownership, permissions, and block pointers, EXCEPT the filename itself?
Option B is correct. An Inode (Index Node) in UNIX/Linux contains file metadata (size, owner, permissions, timestamps, block pointers). The filename is stored separately in the directory entry, pointing to the inode number.
Which file allocation method allows fast random access to any block without external fragmentation, but incurs overhead due to dedicated index blocks?
Option A is correct. Indexed Allocation brings all pointers together into an index block, allowing direct random access without external fragmentation, though it spends space on index blocks.
What major drawback is associated with Contiguous File Allocation?
Option A is correct. Contiguous allocation requires a continuous set of blocks on disk, which suffers from external fragmentation as files are created and deleted, making file expansion difficult.
In a UNIX inode structure with 12 direct pointers, 1 single indirect, 1 double indirect, and 1 triple indirect pointer, if block size is 4 KB and disk address is 4 bytes, what is the maximum file size accessible directly via the 12 direct pointers?
Option B is correct. 12 direct pointers * 4 KB per block = 48 KB. Accessing data within the first 48 KB requires no indirect block lookups.