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The /dev Linux filesystem contains Linux device files. Device files are used to access Linux physical devices (such as hard drives, keyboards, and CPUs) and Linux virtual devices (such as LVM devices, pseudo-terminals, and software RAID devices). The /dev filesystem is a memory-based filesystem, not stored on the hard drive.

• /dev/sd* - Linux devices that begin with “sd” in the /dev directory are either SATA, SCSI, or USB devices. The device name /dev/sda refers to the first device, /dev/sdb refers to the second device, and so on. If a device has Linux partitions, they are numbered starting with the value of 1.

• /dev/sda1 - Example: the first Linux partition of the first SATA, SCSI, or USB device.

• /dev/hd* - Linux devices that begin with “hd” in the /dev directory are IDE-based devices. The device name /dev/hda refers to the first device, /dev/hdb refers to the second device, and so on. If a device has Linux partitions, they are numbered starting with the value of 1.

• /dev/hda1 - Example: the first Linux partition of the first IDE-based device.

• /dev/cdrom - Linux symbolic link that points to the first CD-ROM on the Linux system.

• /dev/dm* - Linux devices that begin with “dm” in the /dev directory are either Linux software RAID or LVM devices. The Linux device name /dev/dm-0 refers to the first device, /dev/dm-1 refers to the second device, and so on.

• /dev/tty* - Linux devices that begin with “tty” in the /dev directory are Linux terminal devices. The device name /dev/tty0 refers to the first device, /dev/tty1 refers to the second device, and so on.