Final answer:
Initrd on Linux is a temporary root file system that contains essential drivers and scripts to access the main root file system during bootup. It ensures that all necessary modules are loaded to allow the kernel to mount the real root filesystem and proceed with the boot process.
Step-by-step explanation:
On Linux, initrd (initial ramdisk) is a temporary root file system that is mounted during the system boot process. Its main function is to preload the block device modules (like SCSI or RAID) that are needed to access the root filesystem and other files required for the boot process. It essentially contains a minimal set of directories and executables to achieve this task, which may include various drivers and scripts. Once the real root file system is mounted, initrd's role is complete, and it is then removed from memory.
- root file-system required during bootup
- drivers required to be preloaded during bootup
- scripts to be executed during bootup
This makes the correct answer to the student's question: initrd is a file that contains the root-file system and drivers required to be preloaded during bootup.