LPIC-1 Devices, Filesystems and FHS Practice Question
An administrator needs to identify the device file for the first SATA SSD in a server. Which device file should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse SATA with PATA (IDE) and choose /dev/hda, or mistakenly think SATA SSDs use NVMe naming like /dev/nvme0n1, not realizing that SATA drives are mapped to the SCSI subsystem as /dev/sdX.
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
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/dev/sda
The first SATA SSD in a Linux system is typically assigned the device file /dev/sda. SATA drives use the SCSI subsystem via the libata driver, which names them /dev/sdX, with 'a' representing the first detected drive. This is the standard naming convention for SATA SSDs in modern Linux kernels.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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/dev/hda
Why it's wrong here
/dev/hda is the legacy PATA/IDE naming used by the old libata-independent driver; modern kernels present SATA disks through the SCSI layer. It is correct only on very old IDE-only systems. A SATA SSD is /dev/sda.
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/dev/sdb
Why it's wrong here
/dev/sdb denotes the second SCSI/SATA disk, so it addresses the wrong device entirely. It tempts because SATA drives are handled by the sd driver, and /dev/sdb would be right for a second disk. The first SATA SSD is enumerated as /dev/sda.
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/dev/nvme0n1
Why it's wrong here
/dev/nvme0n1 addresses an NVMe device attached via the PCIe bus, not a SATA SSD, which appears as /dev/sda through the SCSI subsystem. It is tempting because NVMe drives are common in modern servers and this naming convention is correct when the hardware genuinely uses the NVMe interface rather than SATA.
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/dev/sda
Why this is correct
Linux assigns SATA and SCSI disks sequentially as /dev/sda, /dev/sdb and so on, so the first SATA SSD enumerates as /dev/sda. The /dev/sdX naming reflects the detected drive order, satisfying the request for the first device.
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