Para responder a pergunta sobre o LPI, acho que não há nenhum diretório real e que essa é uma pergunta difícil! O Linux não possui diretórios obrigatórios que devem estar presentes, ele pode ser instalado em qualquer estrutura de diretório que seja escolhida, é configurável.
Eu desenterrei esta página, intitulada: 4. Hierarquia de Diretórios Linux: Orientada para as Partes de Software . Tem isto a dizer:
trecho
So let's summarize what the FHS has to say about Linux directories:
Linux system directories
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/usr/bin
Directory for the executables that are accessed by all users (everybody have this directory in their $PATH). The main files of your Software will probably be here. You should never create a subdirectory under this folder.
/bin
Like /usr/bin, but here you'll find only boot process vital executables, that are simple and small. Your Software (being high-level) probably doesn't have nothing to install here.
/usr/sbin
Like /usr/bin, but contains only the executables that must be accessed by the administrator (root user). Regular users should never have this directory in their $PATH. If your Software is a daemon, This is the directory for some of executables.
/sbin
Like /usr/sbin, but only for the boot process vital executables, and that will be accessed by sysadmin for some system maintaining. Commands like fsck (filesystem check), init (father of all processes), ifconfig (network configuration), mount, etc can be found here. It is the system's most vital directory.
/usr/lib
Contains dynamic libraries and support static files for the executables at /usr/bin and /usr/sbin. You can create a subdirectory like /usr/lib/myproduct to contain your helper files, or dynamic libraries that will be accessed only by your Software, without user intervention. A subdirectory here can be used as a container for plugins and extensions.
/lib
Like /usr/lib but contains dynamic libraries and support static files needed in the boot process. You'll never find an executable at /bin or /sbin that needs a library that is outside this directory. Kernel modules (device drivers) are under /lib.
/etc
Contains configuration files. If your Software uses several files, put them under a subfolder like /etc/myproduct/
/var
The name comes from "variable", because everything that is under this directory changes frequently, and the package system (RPM) doesn't keep control of. Usually /var is mounted over a separate high-performance partition. In /var/log logfiles grow up. For web content we use /var/www, and so on.
/home
Contains the user's (real human beings) home directories. Your Software package should never install files here (in installation time). If your business logic requires a special UNIX user (not a human being) to be created, you should assign him a home directory under /var or other place outside /home. Please, never forget that.
...
You may think is a bad idea to break your Software (as a whole) in many pieces, instead of keeping it all under a self-contained directory. But a package system (RPM) has a database that manages it all for you in a very professional way, taking care of configuration files, directories etc. And if you spread your Software using the FHS, beyond the user friendliness, you'll bring an intuitive way to the sysadmin configure it, and work better with performance and security.
Minha conclusão
Assim, pelo menos de acordo com essa seção posterior do FHS, esses são alguns diretórios que podem ser considerados vagamente obrigatórios, mas o Linux não precisa seguir o FHS. Mesmo o LSB (Linux Standards Base) é apenas um guia, não uma especificação ridícula.
A única coisa que o Linux tenta aderir é a conformidade com POSIX, e o POSIX não faz nenhuma transferência como essa quando se trata de uma variante específica do UNIX.
Referências
- A Edição 7 das Especificações do Open Group Base
- O que é o Linux? [1]
- Notas da classe de programação avançada de engenharia ECE 537
[1] O seguinte material foi extraído de Graham Glass e King Ables, Linux para programadores e usuários, Pearson Prentice-Hall, 2006. ISBN 0-13-185748-7. p 4-15