chapter08/fstab.xml


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<sect1 id="ch-bootable-fstab">
<title>Creating the /etc/fstab file</title>
<?dbhtml filename="fstab.html" dir="chapter08"?>

<para>The <filename>/etc/fstab</filename> file is used by some programs to
determine where partitions are to be mounted by default, which file systems
must be checked and in which order. Create a new file systems table like
this:</para>

<screen><userinput>cat &gt; /etc/fstab &lt;&lt; "EOF"</userinput>
# Begin /etc/fstab

# file system  mount-point  fs-type  options         dump  fsck-order

/dev/xxx      /            fff      defaults        1     1
/dev/yyy      swap         swap     pri=1           0     0
proc          /proc        proc     defaults        0     0
devpts        /dev/pts     devpts   gid=4,mode=620  0     0
shm           /dev/shm     tmpfs    defaults        0     0

# End /etc/fstab
<userinput>EOF</userinput></screen>

<para>Of course, replace <filename>xxx</filename>, <filename>yyy</filename>
and <filename>fff</filename> with the values appropriate for your system --
for example <filename>hda2</filename>, <filename>hda5</filename> and
<filename>reiserfs</filename>. For all the details on the six fields in this
table, see <userinput>man 5 fstab</userinput>.</para>

<para>When using a reiserfs partition, the <emphasis>1 1</emphasis> at the
end of the line should be replaced with <emphasis>0 0</emphasis>, as such a
partition does not need to be dumped or checked</para>

<para>The <filename>/dev/shm</filename> mount point for tmpfs is included to
allow enabling POSIX shared memory. Your kernel must have the required support
built into it for this to work -- more about this in the next section. Please
note that currently very little software actually uses POSIX shared memory.
Therefore you can consider the <filename>/dev/shm</filename> mount point
optional. For more information, see
<filename>Documentation/filesystems/tmpfs.txt</filename> in the kernel source
tree.</para>

<para>There are other lines which you may consider adding to your
<filename>fstab</filename> file. One example is a line to use if you intend to
use USB devices:</para>

<screen>usbfs       /proc/bus/usb  usbfs    defaults    0     0</screen>

<para>This option will of course only work if you have the relevant support
compiled into your kernel.</para>

</sect1>