Virtual Private Server User Guide

Internet and UNIX Basics

Directory Structure

Your server's filesystem can be thought of as an upside down tree. The directory 

tree starts at the root, which is the lowest possible level in the directory tree. The 

branches of this "tree" are called directories. Directories can contain files (or 

leaves, to use the tree analogy) and other directories. 

The relationship between the root and any directory within the system is called a 

path. Paths are displayed with an initial slash (/) to denote the root, and 

subsequent directories are separated by additional slashes. 

To move from directory to directory, you use the cd command. For example, to 

change into the /etc/mail directory, type the following at your command prompt:

> cd /etc/mail

You can verify your location within the filesystem tree with the pwd command:

> pwd

/etc/mail

Some Key Directories

Your VPS server includes a number of important directories that you should 

become familiar with. A small number of them are listed below:

/tmp   This is a directory intended to hold temporary files. It is special in that any 

user can create files there.

/var/log   This directory contains most of the log files, which log information about 

what occurs on your server.

/etc (pronounced iET seei)   This directory contains some important configuration 

files for the system itself that in general you should not need to modify.

/usr/local/etc   This directory contains additional configuration files for many of the 

preinstalled applications on your server. In most cases, you should not need to 

modify them.

/usr/local/www   This directory is the home for the Apache Web server. The files 

which make Apache work are contained in this branch of the filesystem, as are the 

files that make up your Web sites.

/www   This is a shortcut, or symbolic link, to the /usr/local/www directory.

/ftp/pub   This directory is where you store files that you want to make available to 

the public through anonymous FTP.

/etc/mail   The configuration files for your mail services are contained in this 

directory.

For additional information on the basic layout of your filesystem, consult the 

filesystem hierarchy manual page by typing the following command:

Technical Training Department

August 2004

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