Introduction
Mounting entails the process by which the directories and files on the computer storage drives, such as the hard drive and the CD-ROM, are made available for the users to access through the computer system. It comprises the operating system getting access to the storage drive, recognizing, reading and processing the metadata and file system structure on it before recording them on the VFS. This process leverages numerous advantages and disadvantages to the users, as this paper seeks to discuss.
Advantages
The mounting process leverages various benefits in computer practice. For a computer to recognize and read a drive such as the external hard disk, the user must make the device reachable through the mounting process. It is essential in preventing system corruption in case of a power outage. When a device runs out of power, the file system in the mounted disk will be active, thus preventing the file system’s corruption (Silberschatz et al., 2018). It is also simple and easier to execute the FSCK-style file system cleanup with mounting, as it does not need to be performed on boot system. This is crucial in checking the inconsistencies of the file in operating systems like the UNIX (Silberschatz et al., 2018). Which is essential in repairing unexpected and unlooked-for file system corruption.
Consequently, mounting improves the performance of computers through the use of alternative disks. This increases the performance of the computer database by storing the transaction log and the data file separately on different files. It can also be applied in web apps, which require significant disk space (Tomsho, 2020). On the other hand, in mounting, the fragmentation of one partition is not related to the other fragments of the file system. This, through different file systems, helps prevent a complete disk crush at a time, thereby allowing the user to detect system crush earlier before everything gets spoilt, thus preventing data loss.
Disadvantages
Mounting adds an administrative burden to the user. It requires constant management and checkups because the boot and reboot processes are not persistent. For example, the users of Ubuntu 16.04 LTS are required to clean the partition storage of the files regularly (Malallah et al., 2021). This can also lead to the loss of already mounted files, which consumes a few more resources like time and power. The shrinkage is an arduous task. It may not be possible to allot space from one disk by reducing another, especially when dealing with the internet, due to slower Loading and logging in attributed to the poor performance created by mounting. Another drawback is the solitary point of failure when there is no clustered storage and complications controlling permissions in different cluster nodes. The users with the distinct partition need to clean storage to enable the system to boot regularly. For instance, the users with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS will need to clean the old kernel regularly to ensure performance compared to the latest 10.04 LTS, which automatically tasks the cleanings.
Conclusion
In conclusion, mounting has numerous benefits that outweigh its drawbacks. It is critical in preventing system corruption in times of power outage, improving the computer system’s performance through alternative disks, and making it easier and simple to clean up file systems, among others. These outweigh the drawbacks, such as having higher chances of wasting disk space, being easy to forget, and being logged in as a root to mount a device. Therefore mounting is a crucial process that every individual needs to perform to increase the performance of computer databases and avoid panic in cases of a power outage.
References
Malallah, H., Zeebaree, S. R., Zebari, R. R., Sadeeq, M. A., Ageed, Z. S., Ibrahim, I. M., & Merceedi, K. J. (2021). A comprehensive study of kernel issues and concepts in different operating systems. Asian Journal of Research in Computer Science, 8(3), 16-31.
Silberschatz, A., Gagne, G., & Galvin, B. P. (2018). Operating system concepts (10th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Tomsho, G. (2020). Guide to operating systems. Cengage Learning.