In linux, hard drives are referred to as devices, and devices
are pseudo files in /dev. For example, the first partition of
the second lowest numbered SCSI drive is /dev/sdb1. If the drive
referred to as /dev/sda is removed from the chain, then the
latter partition is automatically renamed /dev/sda1 at reboot.
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Volume labels make it possible for partitions to retain a
consistent name regardless of where they are connected, and
regardless of whatever else is connected. Labels are not mandatory for
a linux volume. Each can be a maximum of 16 characters long.
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There are three tools to make volume labels:
mke2fs,
tune2fs and
e2label.
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Simple invocation
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Either of thse two commands will label the first partition of the
second drive "pubsw". That
label stays with that particular partition, even if the drive is
moved to another controller or even another computer.
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will do the same thing as the first two commands - after they make
the file system. This means that either of these last two commands
will delete any existing
data in the partition.
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How to Use
Here is a sample fstab. This is a text file located in /etc, which
is usually set up during the installation of the operating system.
it describes where each partition wil be mounted, and how it will be mounted.
It can be modified by you, either through a utility or manually,
when you add/remove devices.
LABEL=/ / ext3 defaults 1 1
LABEL=/boot /boot ext2 defaults 1 2
none /dev/pts devpts gid=5,mode=620 0 0
none /dev/shm tmpfs defaults 0 0
LABEL=HOME /home ext3 defaults 1 2
none /proc proc defaults 0 0
none /sys sysfs defaults 0 0
LABEL=/usr /usr ext3 defaults 1 2
/dev/hdc1 /k-space ext3 defaults 1 2
/dev/hda6 swap swap defaults 0 0
/dev/hdd /media/cdrecorder auto pamconsole,ro,exec,noauto,managed 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy auto pamconsole,exec,noauto,managed 0 0
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The leftmost column lists devices and the second column lists mount
points. This example contains a mixture of devices and labels. The
master drive of the second controller is always mounted on /k-space.
The partition labelled "HOME" is always mounted on /home, regardless
of which drive it is on or which partition number it has. Notice
that it is permissible to use mount points as labels, such as
"/usr"
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