Disk, Filesystem, and Mount Automation

Understanding Block Devices with lsblk and fdisk

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Inspect all block devices and their UUIDs
set -euo pipefail

echo '=== Block Device Tree ==='
lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,TYPE,FSTYPE,MOUNTPOINT,UUID

echo ''
echo '=== Partition Table Details ==='
sudo fdisk -l 2>/dev/null | grep -E '^Disk |^/dev/'

echo ''
echo '=== UUID Lookup via blkid ==='
sudo blkid | awk -F: '{print $1}' | while read -r dev; do
  uuid=$(sudo blkid -s UUID -o value "$dev" 2>/dev/null || echo 'N/A')
  fstype=$(sudo blkid -s TYPE -o value "$dev" 2>/dev/null || echo 'unknown')
  printf '%-20s UUID=%-38s TYPE=%s\n' "$dev" "$uuid" "$fstype"
done

Checking Disk Space with df and du

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Alert if any mounted filesystem exceeds a usage threshold
set -euo pipefail

THRESHOLD=80   # percent

echo 'Checking filesystem usage...'
df -h --output=source,pcent,target | tail -n +2 | while IFS= read -r line; do
  device=$(awk '{print $1}' <<< "$line")
  pct=$(awk '{print $2}' <<< "$line" | tr -d '%')
  mount=$(awk '{print $3}' <<< "$line")

  # Skip pseudo filesystems
  [[ "$device" == tmpfs* || "$device" == devtmpfs* ]] && continue

  if (( pct >= THRESHOLD )); then
    echo "WARNING: $device mounted at $mount is ${pct}% full" >&2
  else
    echo "OK: $device at $mount is ${pct}% used"
  fi
done

Reading and Parsing /etc/fstab

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Parse /etc/fstab and display non-comment entries in a readable table
set -euo pipefail

FSTAB=/etc/fstab

printf '%-40s %-20s %-10s %s\n' 'DEVICE' 'MOUNTPOINT' 'FSTYPE' 'OPTIONS'
printf '%s\n' '-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------'

while IFS= read -r line; do
  # Skip blank lines and comments
  [[ -z "$line" || "$line" =~ ^[[:space:]]*# ]] && continue

  read -r device mountpt fstype options _dump _pass <<< "$line"
  printf '%-40s %-20s %-10s %s\n' "$device" "$mountpt" "$fstype" "$options"
done < "$FSTAB"

Safely Adding an fstab Entry

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Safely append a new entry to /etc/fstab (idempotent)
set -euo pipefail

DEVICE_PATH='/dev/sdb1'
MOUNTPOINT='/mnt/data'
FSTYPE='ext4'
OPTIONS='defaults,nofail'
FSTAB='/etc/fstab'

# Resolve UUID for stable identification
UUID=$(sudo blkid -s UUID -o value "$DEVICE_PATH")
if [[ -z "$UUID" ]]; then
  echo "ERROR: Could not resolve UUID for $DEVICE_PATH" >&2
  exit 1
fi

ENTRY="UUID=$UUID  $MOUNTPOINT  $FSTYPE  $OPTIONS  0  2"

# Idempotency: skip if UUID already referenced in fstab
if grep -qsF "UUID=$UUID" "$FSTAB"; then
  echo "INFO: fstab already contains UUID=$UUID — skipping."
  exit 0
fi

# Backup
cp -p "$FSTAB" "${FSTAB}.bak.$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S)"

# Create mountpoint if needed
sudo mkdir -p "$MOUNTPOINT"

# Append entry
echo "$ENTRY" | sudo tee -a "$FSTAB" > /dev/null
echo "INFO: Added: $ENTRY"

# Validate
sudo findmnt --verify --verbose || echo 'WARNING: findmnt verify reported issues'

Mounting and Unmounting Filesystems in Scripts

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Mount a device only if not already mounted; log outcome
set -euo pipefail

DEVICE='/dev/sdb1'
MOUNTPOINT='/mnt/data'

log() { logger -t disk-mount "$*"; echo "[$(date '+%F %T')] $*"; }

# Check if already mounted
if mountpoint -q "$MOUNTPOINT"; then
  log "INFO: $MOUNTPOINT is already mounted — nothing to do."
  exit 0
fi

# Ensure mountpoint directory exists
sudo mkdir -p "$MOUNTPOINT"

# Attempt mount
if sudo mount "$DEVICE" "$MOUNTPOINT"; then
  log "OK: Mounted $DEVICE at $MOUNTPOINT"
else
  log "ERROR: Failed to mount $DEVICE at $MOUNTPOINT"
  exit 1
fi

# Show what is now mounted there
df -h "$MOUNTPOINT"

Introduction to LVM: Physical Volumes, Volume Groups, and Logical Volumes

Scripting LVM Volume Creation

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Automate LVM setup: PV -> VG -> LV -> mkfs -> mount
set -euo pipefail

DISK='/dev/sdc'          # raw disk, no existing partitions
VG_NAME='vg_appdata'
LV_NAME='lv_appdata'
LV_SIZE='10G'
MOUNTPOINT='/mnt/appdata'
FSTYPE='xfs'

echo "[1/6] Initializing Physical Volume on $DISK"
sudo pvcreate -y "$DISK"

echo "[2/6] Creating Volume Group: $VG_NAME"
sudo vgcreate "$VG_NAME" "$DISK"

echo "[3/6] Creating Logical Volume: $LV_NAME (${LV_SIZE})"
sudo lvcreate -y -L "$LV_SIZE" -n "$LV_NAME" "$VG_NAME"

echo "[4/6] Formatting as $FSTYPE"
sudo mkfs."$FSTYPE" "/dev/$VG_NAME/$LV_NAME"

echo "[5/6] Mounting at $MOUNTPOINT"
sudo mkdir -p "$MOUNTPOINT"
sudo mount "/dev/$VG_NAME/$LV_NAME" "$MOUNTPOINT"

echo "[6/6] Done. Disk usage:"
df -h "$MOUNTPOINT"

# Show LVM summary
vgs && lvs

Extending a Logical Volume Online

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Extend an LV and its xfs filesystem online
set -euo pipefail

VG_NAME='vg_appdata'
LV_NAME='lv_appdata'
EXTEND_BY='5G'
LV_DEV="/dev/$VG_NAME/$LV_NAME"

# Confirm VG has enough free space
FREE_GB=$(vgs --noheadings --units g -o vg_free "$VG_NAME" | tr -d ' g')
echo "VG free space: ${FREE_GB}G"
if (( $(echo "$FREE_GB < 5" | bc -l) )); then
  echo 'ERROR: Not enough free space in VG' >&2
  exit 1
fi

echo "Extending LV by $EXTEND_BY..."
sudo lvextend -L "+${EXTEND_BY}" "$LV_DEV"

echo 'Growing xfs filesystem online...'
sudo xfs_growfs "$LV_DEV"

echo 'New size:'
df -h "$LV_DEV"
lvs "$LV_DEV"

Creating and Formatting Filesystems

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Format a partition and assign a label; print resulting UUID
set -euo pipefail

PARTITION='/dev/sdb1'
FSTYPE='ext4'
LABEL='appdata'

# Safety check: refuse to format a currently mounted device
if findmnt --source "$PARTITION" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
  echo "ERROR: $PARTITION is currently mounted. Unmount first." >&2
  exit 1
fi

echo "Formatting $PARTITION as $FSTYPE with label '$LABEL'..."
sudo mkfs."$FSTYPE" -L "$LABEL" -F "$PARTITION"

# Retrieve and display the new UUID
NEW_UUID=$(sudo blkid -s UUID -o value "$PARTITION")
echo "Formatted successfully."
echo "Label : $LABEL"
echo "UUID  : $NEW_UUID"
echo "Use this in fstab: UUID=$NEW_UUID  /mnt/$LABEL  $FSTYPE  defaults,nofail  0  2"

Automating NFS Mounts with autofs

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Generate an autofs NFS map file from a share list and reload autofs
set -euo pipefail

NFS_SERVER='192.168.1.50'
AUTO_MAP='/etc/auto.nfs'
AUTO_MASTER='/etc/auto.master'
MOUNT_BASE='/nfs'

# Define shares: localname:remote_path
declare -A SHARES=(
  [homes]='/export/homes'
  [media]='/export/media'
  [backups]='/export/backups'
)

# Write map file
{
  echo '# Generated by disk-automation script'
  for localname in "${!SHARES[@]}"; do
    remote="${SHARES[$localname]}"
    echo "$localname  -rw,soft,timeo=30  ${NFS_SERVER}:${remote}"
  done
} | sudo tee "$AUTO_MAP" > /dev/null

echo "Wrote $AUTO_MAP"

# Ensure master map references this file
if ! grep -qF "$AUTO_MAP" "$AUTO_MASTER"; then
  echo "$MOUNT_BASE  $AUTO_MAP" | sudo tee -a "$AUTO_MASTER" > /dev/null
  echo "Updated $AUTO_MASTER"
fi

sudo systemctl reload autofs && echo 'autofs reloaded'

LVM Snapshot for Safe Backups

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Create an LVM snapshot, back up via tar, then remove snapshot
set -euo pipefail

VG='vg_appdata'
ORIGIN_LV='lv_appdata'
SNAP_LV='lv_appdata_snap'
SNAP_SIZE='2G'
SNAP_MOUNT='/mnt/snap_backup'
BACKUP_DEST='/var/backups/appdata'
DATESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)

trap 'sudo umount "$SNAP_MOUNT" 2>/dev/null; sudo lvremove -f "/dev/$VG/$SNAP_LV" 2>/dev/null' ERR EXIT

echo '[1] Creating snapshot...'
sudo lvcreate -s -n "$SNAP_LV" -L "$SNAP_SIZE" "/dev/$VG/$ORIGIN_LV"

echo '[2] Mounting snapshot read-only...'
sudo mkdir -p "$SNAP_MOUNT"
sudo mount -o ro "/dev/$VG/$SNAP_LV" "$SNAP_MOUNT"

echo '[3] Archiving to backup destination...'
sudo mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DEST"
sudo tar -czf "$BACKUP_DEST/appdata_${DATESTAMP}.tar.gz" -C "$SNAP_MOUNT" .

echo '[4] Cleaning up snapshot...'
sudo umount "$SNAP_MOUNT"
sudo lvremove -f "/dev/$VG/$SNAP_LV"

echo "Backup complete: $BACKUP_DEST/appdata_${DATESTAMP}.tar.gz"

Knowledge Check: Safe fstab and Mount Automation

Lesson Recap: Disk, Filesystem, and Mount Automation