How to Mount File Systems on Linux
Now that we’ve covered the basics let’s move on to the practical aspects of mounting file systems on Linux. Mounting can be a temporary or permanent operation, and it’s typically performed by an administrator, either by logging in as the root user or by using the sudo command.
Syntax of mount Command
mount -t type device dir
Other forms:
mount [-l|-h|-V]
mount -a [-fFnrsvw] [-t fstype] [-O optlist]
mount [-fnrsvw] [-o options] device|dir
mount [-fnrsvw] [-t fstype] [-o options] device dir
These commands tell the Kernel to attach the filesystem found at device to the dir.
Note:
- If you leave the dir part of syntax it looks for a mount point in /etc/fstab.
- You can use –source or –target to avoid ambivalent interpretation.
mount --target /mountpoint - /etc/fstab usually contains information about which device is need to be mounted where.
- Most of the devices are indicated by files like /dev/sda4, etc. But it can be different for certain filesystems. Please refer below for more information.
man mount
Note: It is important to note that we are only discussing the standard form of mount command given as syntax. Different forms are somewhat discussed because it has certain limitations on different kernels.
Options Available in mount Command
|
Options |
Description |
|---|---|
|
l |
Lists all the file systems mounted yet. |
|
h |
Displays options for command. |
|
V |
Displays the version information. |
|
a |
Mounts all devices described at /etc/fstab. |
|
t |
Type of filesystem device uses. |
|
T |
Describes an alternative fstab file. |
|
r |
Read-only mode mounted. |
How to Mount File System in Linux | mount Command
All files in a Linux filesystem are arranged in form of a big tree rooted at ‘/‘.These files can be spread out on various devices based on your partition table, initially your parent directory is mounted(i.e attached) to this tree at ‘/‘, others can be mounted manually using GUI interface(if available) or using mount command.
mount command is used to mount the filesystem found on a device to big tree structure(Linux filesystem) rooted at ‘/‘. Conversely, another command umount can be used to detach these devices from the Tree.
Table of Content
- Understanding File Systems Available for Linux
- How to List Currently Mounted File Systems on Linux
- How to Mount File Systems on Linux
- Practical Examples of How to Mount File Systems on Linux with Available Options
- Frequently Asked Question