File System Basics - Solaris 9 System Administrator - page 138

Solaris Pseudo-File Systems
Solaris supports several types of memory-based file systems. These are
referred to as pseudo-file systems. Because they are memory-based, these file
systems provide faster access to the data stored in them. However, they are
not permanent. In addition, any directories or files in pseudo-file systems are
lost when the file system is unmounted or the system is rebooted/shut down.
Table 6.5 describes the pseudo-file systems supported by Solaris 9.

Table 6.5 Solaris Pseudo-File Systems

Name Abbreviation Use

Cache File System CACHEFS Local caching for remote file systems

File Descriptors File System FDFS Opening file using file descriptors with

explicit names

First-In First-Out File System FIFOFS Accessing data (named pipes)

Loopback File System LOFS Providing alternative paths to existing

data

Name File System NAMEFS Dynamic mounting of file descriptors by

STREAMS modules

Process File System PROCFS Accessing process status and informa-

tion

Special Device File System SPECFS Accessing special character or block

devices

Swap File System SWAPFS Accessing system swap space

Temporary File System TMPFS Providing fast access to temporary files

Of these nine pseudo-file systems, the following five file systems do not
require any administration:

➤ FDFS

➤

FIFOFS

➤ NAMEFS

➤

SPECFS

➤ SWAPFS

The other four pseudo-file systems— PROCFS , TMPFS , LOFS , and CACHEFS —are
described in the following sections.