Which /etc/fstab mount option keeps a filesystem from being mounted by `mount -a` during boot, while still allowing an administrator to mount it later by naming its mount point?
LPIC-1 Exam 101-500, objective 104. Devices, Linux filesystems, filesystem hierarchy standard medium
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The options
Not correct ro
Wrong. ro mounts the filesystem read-only. It controls how it is mounted, not whether.
Not correct nofail
Wrong. nofail still mounts the entry at boot; it only stops the boot from reporting an error if the device is absent. It is what you add for removable or network storage that you do want mounted when present.
Correct noauto
Correct. mount -a skips entries marked noauto, but the entry still supplies the device, type and options, so `mount /data` alone works afterwards.
Not correct user
Wrong. user permits an ordinary non-root user to mount the entry (and implies noexec, nosuid and nodev). It does not by itself prevent automatic mounting, though it is commonly paired with noauto.
Why
Common fstab options worth knowing: defaults, ro/rw, noauto, nofail, user/users, noexec, nosuid, nodev, noatime, and _netdev for network filesystems. On systemd systems each fstab entry is also translated into a .mount unit, and options like x-systemd.automount hook into that.
Where this comes from
- Cited
- LPI exam objective 104.3
- What it says
- Control which filesystems mount automatically using /etc/fstab options.
Practise this
Reading one question is not practice. The trainer will draw a set from objective 104 and space the ones you get wrong.