Difference between revisions of "Fstab - Use SystemD automount"

I found a combination of systemd options (on the ArchWiki [https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Systemd#Automount]) that can be used in the /etc/fstab when mounting storage devices --be they internal, external, or network shares.  

I found a combination of systemd options (on the ArchWiki [https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Systemd#Automount]) that can be used in the /etc/fstab when mounting storage devices --be they internal, external, or network shares.  

A device called this way via /etc/fstab is mounted the first time data is attempted to be accessed from it. Only on this first mount is there any (minor) noticeable delay, when compared to having the device mounted the "old" way.

A device called this way via /etc/fstab is mounted the first time data is attempted to be accessed from it. Only on this first mount is there any (minor) noticeable delay, when compared to having the device mounted the "old" way.

I have a ReadyNAS Duo v1, which is connected to my LAN. These days I quite often turn it off as it doesn't need to run perpetually.

I have a ReadyNAS Duo v1, which is connected to my LAN. These days I quite often turn it off as it doesn't need to run perpetually.

So then I found the following extremely simple & effective solution. (Wish I had of done this one first, as it would have saved me a couple of hours of a loosing battle!)

So then I found the following extremely simple & effective solution. (Wish I had of done this one first, as it would have saved me a couple of hours of a loosing battle!)

Add the following to the beginning of the options section in your /etc/fstab, the numbers at the end are a time limit for how long it should try to make a connection before giving up & moving on:

Add the following to the beginning of the options section in your /etc/fstab, the numbers at the end are a time limit for how long it should try to make a connection before giving up & moving on:

After that I unplugged the drive, which had Worker (my file manager of choice) looking for it as I hadn't changed out of the the media-2 directory. When I plugged the cable back in, it took ~10 seconds or so & then Worker automatically re-listed the contents or this very large partition that has well over 2000 directories, each holding multiple files.

After that I unplugged the drive, which had Worker (my file manager of choice) looking for it as I hadn't changed out of the the media-2 directory. When I plugged the cable back in, it took ~10 seconds or so & then Worker automatically re-listed the contents or this very large partition that has well over 2000 directories, each holding multiple files.

If you have a very large /home & the boot process is held up when a scheduled fsck takes place (really not a big problem if you are using ext4), you can add the '''x-systemd.automount''' section to the options section of the line in your fstab for /home like so:

If you have a very large /home & the boot process is held up when a scheduled fsck takes place (really not a big problem if you are using ext4), you can add the '''x-systemd.automount''' section to the options section of the line in your fstab for /home like so:

This will allow services that do not depend on /home to start while /home is checked by fsck. Mounting /home when it is first accessed, the kernel will buffer all file access to /home until it is ready.

This will allow services that do not depend on /home to start while /home is checked by fsck. Mounting /home when it is first accessed, the kernel will buffer all file access to /home until it is ready.