The Labs.Com Admin Lab SymMount

The Labs - Design & Functionality For The Net

1. Intro
2. Download
3. /etc/symmount.conf
4. Usage
5. Related Stuff

symmount provides "symbolical" file-system table (fstab), in order words you define by the disk-vendor/manufacture the mounting point. The main advantage lies within the very fact that ZIP or JAZ disks (SCSI) attached or non-attached might change the /etc/fstab, and a lot of hand-work is required when SCSI devices are added or removed.

symmount solves this and enables you to map physical hard-disks to certain mounting points.

SymMount 2. Download

symmount perl source (GNU License)

SymMount 3. /etc/symmount.conf

Run symmount as root one time, and it will create /etc/symmount.conf automatically based on all mounted devices. But you can write it also by yourself: You define the devices (vendor + model) and partition-no and its mounting points:

# --- Sample /etc/symmount.conf

seagate.st34371w:3   /             ext2

quantum.xp39100w:1   /mnt/scratch  ext2

ibm.ddrs-39130w:1    /mnt/scratch2 ext2

iomega.jaz:1         /mnt/jaz      ext2

iomega.zip:1         /mnt/zip      msdos

quantum.viking:1     /mnt/video1   msdos

quantum.viking:2     /mnt/video2   msdos

# --- create a ramdisk /dev/ram0 -> /mnt/mfs

ram.none:0          /mnt/mfs      ext2

Usually, in /etc/fstab you must know which /dev/??? it becomes, and as said, plug-in an extern JAZ or ZIP screws up your /etc/fstab unlike with /etc/symmount.conf as you see.

To find the vendor+model, look at

% more /proc/scsi/scsi

Attached devices:

Host: scsi0 Channel: 00 Id: 00 Lun: 00

Vendor: SEAGATE  Model: ST34371W         Rev: 0484

Type:   Direct-Access                    ANSI SCSI revision: 02

Host: scsi0 Channel: 00 Id: 04 Lun: 00

Vendor: iomega   Model: jaz 1GB          Rev: H.72

Type:   Direct-Access                    ANSI SCSI revision: 02

Host: scsi0 Channel: 00 Id: 08 Lun: 00

Vendor: QUANTUM  Model: XP39100W         Rev: LXY4

Type:   Direct-Access                    ANSI SCSI revision: 02

Host: scsi0 Channel: 00 Id: 09 Lun: 00

Vendor: QUANTUM  Model: VIKING 4.5 WSE   Rev: 8808

Type:   Direct-Access                    ANSI SCSI revision: 02

Host: scsi0 Channel: 00 Id: 10 Lun: 00

Vendor: IBM      Model: DDRS-39130W      Rev: S71D

Type:   Direct-Access                    ANSI SCSI revision: 02

From there you get the vendor and model-names. Concate vendor-name and model. You also don't have to add the entire model name, maybe just the first few letters or enough to identify it (ie. iomega.jaz1gb -> iomega.jaz). /etc/symmount.conf is case-insensitve.

SymMount 4. Usage

I put it in my /etc/rc.d/rc.local (RedHat) or /etc/rc.d/boot.local (SuSE):

/usr/sbin/symmount

Be sure you put symmount on the system-disk (which is mounted by default), e.g. /usr/sbin/

If you had system crash (hang) and you require to fsck all disks, you can use symmount also:

% symmount umount

unmounts all devices except the one you are on (system-disk).

% symmount fsck

calls e2fsck for those devices which have ext2 file-system.

Additionally symmount calls swapon -a which enables all swap-space/files listed in /etc/fstab.

SymMount 5. Related Stuff

MountIt Graphical interface for SymMount

SystemViuw PerlTk Script showing system-info

SCSI Lab Some infos on SCSI

                                                                                                                                   

Perl Lab

Admin Lab

UndoRM