Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator Exam: Understanding the Command mount -a

The mount -a Command: Purpose and Usage

Question

What does the command mount -a do?

Answers

Explanations

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A. B. C. D. E.

D

The correct answer is D. The mount -a command mounts all filesystems listed in the /etc/fstab file which have the option auto set.

When a Linux system boots up, it reads the /etc/fstab file to determine which filesystems to mount at boot time. The /etc/fstab file contains a list of filesystems along with their mount points and mount options. The auto option tells the system to mount the filesystem at boot time, while the noauto option tells the system not to mount the filesystem at boot time.

If a filesystem is not mounted at boot time, it can still be mounted manually using the mount command. However, if a large number of filesystems are listed in the /etc/fstab file, manually mounting each one can be a time-consuming process. This is where the mount -a command comes in handy.

By running the mount -a command, the system will attempt to mount all filesystems listed in the /etc/fstab file that have the auto option set. This saves time and simplifies the process of mounting multiple filesystems.

In summary, the mount -a command is used to mount all filesystems listed in the /etc/fstab file that have the auto option set at boot time or after a system reboot.