Master Linux Disk Management: Partition, Format, and Mount Like a Pro

In Linux, disk management is essential for partitioning, formatting, and mounting storage devices to fully utilize space and access data efficiently.

All devices appear under /dev; you must partition, format, and mount them to known directories before use.

1. Basic Introduction

Disk partitioning divides a physical disk into logical parts. Tools like fdisk and gdisk can create MBR or GPT partitions. Use MBR for disks under 2 TB, GPT for larger disks.

2. fdisk Partition Tool

Install fdisk:

sudo apt-get -y install fdisk   # Ubuntu
sudo yum -y install fdisk       # CentOS

Basic commands:

fdisk -l                     # List disks and partitions
fdisk /dev/sdb               # Open disk for editing
# Inside fdisk menu:
  d   # Delete partition
  n   # Add new partition
  p   # Print partition table
  w   # Write changes and exit

Example: create a 2 GB primary partition on /dev/sdc:

fdisk /dev/sdc
Command (? for help): n
Partition type: p
Partition number: 1
First sector: 2048
Last sector (+size): +2G
Command (? for help): w

3. gdisk Partition Tool

Install gdisk:

sudo apt-get -y install gdisk   # Ubuntu
sudo yum -y install gdisk       # CentOS

gdisk works with GPT (and MBR) disks. Common commands:

gdisk /dev/sdf
b   # Backup GPT data
n   # Add new partition
p   # Print partition table
w   # Write changes

Example: create a 1 GB partition on /dev/sdf:

gdisk /dev/sdf
Command (? for help): n
Partition number (1-128, default 1):
First sector (34-8589934558, default = 2048): 2048
Last sector (2048-8589934558, default = 8589932543) or +size{K,M,G,T,P}: +1G
Hex code or GUID (Enter = 8300 for Linux filesystem):
Command (? for help): w

4. Observing Partition State

lsblk

Lists block devices and partitions:

lsblk
NAME   MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda      8:0    0   20G  0 disk
├─sda1   8:1    0    1M  0 part
└─sda2   8:2    0   20G  0 part /

blkid

Shows UUID and filesystem type; useful for mounting by UUID.

parted

Displays partition table type and layout:

parted /dev/sdb1 print
Model: VMware, VMware Virtual S (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 21.5GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Number  Start   End     Size    Type     File system  Flags
 1      1049kB  5370MB  5369MB  primary  ext3
 2      5370MB  7517MB  2147MB  primary  ext3

5. Formatting Filesystems

Use mkfs (or specific variants) to create a filesystem on a partition. Example for ext4: mkfs.ext4 /dev/vdb1 Common options include -b (block size), -L (label), -j (add journal), -m (reserved block percentage), -U (set UUID).

6. Creating Filesystems with mkfs and mke2fs

mkfs

is generic; mkfs.ext2, mkfs.ext3, mkfs.ext4 are specific. mke2fs is the underlying implementation for ext2/3/4.

mkfs.ext2 -b 2k -L demoTest -j /dev/vdb1
# Result shows filesystem type, UUID, etc.

7. Adjusting Filesystem Parameters

tune2fs

modifies ext2/3/4 parameters (e.g., max mount count, check interval, add journal). Example:

tune2fs -c 15 /dev/sdb   # Set max mount count to 15
tune2fs -i 10d /dev/sdb  # Force check after 10 days

dumpe2fs

displays detailed filesystem information, such as block count, inode count, block size, etc.

8. Mounting Devices

Mount a filesystem with mount:

mount -vrt ext2 -o sync,noatime /dev/vdb1 /mnt/game

Check with df -h and verify read‑only with touch (should fail if ro).

Mount by LABEL or UUID

Using label: mount -v -L shebeiB /mnt/videos Using UUID:

mount -v -U eaab835f-073a-4b98-ba44-68c8e49228e2 /mnt/videos

9. Unmounting Devices

Unmount with umount (or umount -f if needed). Ensure the mount point is not busy:

umount /dev/vdb1
umount /mnt/game

10. Automatic Mounting with /etc/fstab

Configure /etc/fstab with six fields: device, mount point, filesystem type, options, dump, pass. Example entries:

/dev/vdb1    /mnt/game    ext2    auto,ro    0    0
LABEL=shebeiB    /mnt/videos    ext3    auto,rw    0    0
UUID=a14f72f0-d450-473a-aaa2-4f2b811b0500  /mnt/music  ext4  noauto,rw  0  0

Apply with mount -a and verify with df -h.

11. Special Mounts

ISO Image

Mount an ISO file using the loop device: mount -vo loop /path/to/image.iso /mnt/guazai1 Unmount with umount -f /dev/loop12.

Windows Share (CIFS)

Mount a Windows SMB share:

mount -t cifs -o username=JavaScript,password=54088 //192.168.0.144/images /mnt/guazai2

Unmount with umount //192.168.0.144/images.

After mastering partitioning, formatting, and mounting, you can manage Linux storage effectively and automate it for reliable system operation.