can't ln file

[peterchu]

I use HP UX 11 system ,

when I run "ln abc.txt /edp/bak" where /edp/bak is a directory , then it pop the error "ln: different file system" , I also check with /etc/fstab , both two directory ( /home and /edp are vxfs ) , could suggest what is wrong ? thx

#pwd
/home/user1
#ln abc.SPS /edp/bak
ln: different file system

[Patrick Wallek]

I don't think hard links can span filesystems.

Try a symbolic link instead.

# ln -s abc.SPS /edp/bak/acp.SPS

[Sudeesh]

Hard links can't span filesystems. Because hard links share inodes with each other, they must exist in the same file system. Inodes are part of a file system, defined when a file system is created. This is not true of symbolic links, which can refer to a file anywhere on a system since they only store the pathname to the referenced file.

Create soft link using ln -s.


Sudeesh

[Naveej.K.A]

Hi,

Apart from hardlink not able to span filesystems, a hard link can not be created for a directory as well.

Create a soft link with the -s option as Patrick have suggested.

Regards,
--Naveej

[Suraj Singh_1]

Hi,

Your problem is that
i) You are trying to link a file to a directory, and
ii) the directory you are trying to link is on a filesystem other than the one where you are trying to create the file.

For both these situations you need to create a symbolic link, instead of Hard-link.

Your command should look like "ln -s abc.txt /edp/bak"

To know more about hard links and synbolic links, you can read the man pages of ln, as well as you may search the web.

Regards

[Bill Hassell]

When you create a link, (hardlink or symbolic link) the destination or target must be a non-existant name. Since /edb/bak is a directory, the link will command will fail. If you specify /edp/bak/abc.link, then you'll get the error message:

ln: different file system

Now changing to a symbolic link:

# ln -s abc.SPS /edp/bak/abc.link

will work but not produce what you want. The reason is that abc.SPS is a simple filename and the link stores exactly that string--no more. So if you are not in the correct directory, the file cannot be found.

All symbolic links should have a fullpath for the source as in:

# ln -s /mydir/mysubdir/abc.SPS /edp/bak/abc.link