Final answer:
The maximum file size in the described file system is 8,393,216 bytes, calculated by adding the 4608 bytes directly accessible through 9 pointers, and the 8,388,608 bytes available through one double indirect pointer structure.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question relates to file systems and how files are stored on a disk. In this file system scenario, file headers (or inodes in UNIX terminology) contain pointers to data sectors on the disk where the file's data is actually stored. Since we know that each disk sector is 512 bytes, we can calculate the maximum file size based on the provided structure.
There are 9 direct pointers, each pointing to a sector of data. So, for direct data we have:
- 9 pointers × 512 bytes/pointer = 4608 bytes
The tenth pointer is to double indirect sectors, meaning this pointer points to a sector containing additional pointers to other sectors, which in turn point to actual data sectors. If we assume that each pointer is 4 bytes (which is typical for an integer), we can determine how many pointers can fit in one sector:
- 512 bytes/sector ÷ 4 bytes/pointer = 128 pointers per sector
For double indirect pointing, these initial 128 pointers each point to another sector, which itself can contain 128 pointers to actual data sectors. So, we calculate the double indirect data amount:
- 128 pointers/sector × 128 sectors/pointer × 512 bytes/sector = 8,388,608 bytes
Adding together the direct and double indirect capacity, we have:
- 4608 bytes (direct) + 8,388,608 bytes (double indirect) = 8,393,216 bytes
Therefore, the maximum file size in this system would be 8,393,216 bytes.