chapter08/fstab.xml


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<sect1 id="ch08-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

# filesystem  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
enable 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 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>