LFCS Storage Management Practice Question
After creating an XFS filesystem on /dev/sdb1, an admin mounts it and writes data. Later, they run 'xfs_info /mnt/data' and see the filesystem was created with default settings. What is the default inode size for XFS on a typical Linux system?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse the default inode size of XFS (256 bytes) with that of ext4 (128 bytes) or mistake the block size (4096 bytes) for the inode size, leading them to select option B or C.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
256 bytes
The default inode size for XFS on a typical Linux system is 256 bytes. This is set at filesystem creation time and provides a balance between supporting extended attributes (like ACLs and SELinux contexts) and minimizing metadata overhead. The `xfs_info` command confirms the default settings, which include this 256-byte inode size.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
512 bytes
Why it's wrong here
Not the default for XFS.
- ✗
128 bytes
Why it's wrong here
XFS default inode size is 256, not 128.
- ✗
4096 bytes
Why it's wrong here
That's the block size default for many filesystems.
- ✓
256 bytes
Why this is correct
XFS uses 256-byte inodes by default.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This LFCS practice question is part of Courseiva's free Linux Foundation certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the LFCS exam.