So we know that our filesystems are comprised of files and directories; both of which are files, just different types. However, what about links, pipes, and sockets? What are they and how are they used? And why do we talk of links? What is the difference between a hard link and soft link? I think I need to sit down. I can feel one of my turns coming on.

Let's also challenge the traditional filesystem design; you may well have worked with a logical volume manager (LVM) in the past, but let me tell you just how last century that is. You are going to be blown away by the power and ease of your enterprise filesystem management using BTRFS, pronounced Better FS. We will cover the following sections in this chapter: