Media access with mount and fstab
MOUNT UP
This month we look at tools for mounting and unmounting storage media.
The penguin does not use Windows-style drive letters – instead, Linux attaches media directly to the directory tree in a process known as mounting, which is performed either at boot time or using manual commands. There’s a place for everything in the Linux filesystem tree; device files for devices of all kinds, such as network devices, removable media, or hard disk partitions, can typically be found below the /dev (for "device") directory. Name Game
IDE device names (the names of hard disks, CD-ROM, or DVD drives) start with hd (for "hard disk"); the letter that then follows depends on the connector and the order. Each controller provides two connectors; the first connector is called the master and the second the slave. The device names are: hda (master) and hdb (slave) for the devices attached to the first controller. Devices on the second controller are known as hdc (master) and hdd (slave).
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.
-
KaOS 2025.05 Officially Qt5 Free
If you're a fan of independent Linux distributions, the team behind KaOS is proud to announce the latest iteration that includes kernel 6.14 and KDE's Plasma 6.3.5.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 Now Available
The latest Linux kernel is now available with several new features/improvements and the usual bug fixes.
-
Microsoft Makes Surprising WSL Announcement
In a move that might surprise some users, Microsoft has made Windows Subsystem for Linux open source.
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.
-
IBM Announces Powerhouse Linux Server
IBM has unleashed a seriously powerful Linux server with the LinuxONE Emperor 5.
-
Plasma Ends LTS Releases
The KDE Plasma development team is doing away with the LTS releases for a good reason.