Configuring the mount point for a VMware virtual disk

Last Updated : May 26, 2024 |

Procedure

  1. Open a console terminal window.
  2. Log on to the console.
  3. Enter: fdisk -l

    The output of the fdisk command is similar to the following:

    Disk /dev/sda: 644.2 GB, 644245094400 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 78325 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes 
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
 I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes 
Disk identifier: 0x000842e4
Device    Boot	Start	End	Blocks	    Id	System
/dev/sda    *  1        73	583676+	             83	Linux
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda2	        73	1379	 10485756+	 83      Linux
/dev/sda3	      1379	2684	 10485756+	 83      Linux
/dev/sda4	      2684	78326       607589376	 f	W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sda5	      2684	3729	 8388604+	  82	Linux swap
/dev/sda6	      3729	5003	 10239996+	 83	Linux
/dev/sda7	      5003	9181	 33554428+	 83	Linux
/dev/sda8             9181	12575	27262972+	83	Linux
/dev/sda9	      12575      14663	16777212+	83	Linux
/dev/sda10	     14663      16222	12517372+	83	Linux
/dev/sda11	     16222      78326	498847744	83	Linux
    Note:

    On Linux® systems, the virtual disk path is similar to what is shown above as /dev/sdb.

  4. Determine the size and available disk space of the new virtual hard disk. For more information, see Administering Avaya Call Management System on how to determine the amount of space needed for a maintenance backup of data.
  5. Enter: df -kl
    Note:

    Do not run this command if a backup is running since the virtual hard disk is already under heavy use.

  6. Mount the virtual hard disk by performing the following steps:
    1. Create the mount point if the mount point does not exist. Enter: mkdir /MountPoint

      mkdir /CMS_Backup

    2. To mount the virtual hard disk, enter: mount /dev/sdX /MountPoint

      where /dev/sdX is the path for the virtual hard disk.

      mount /dev/sdb /CMS_Backup

    3. Enter the following commands to create the file system:

      cd /

      mkfs -t ext4 /dev/sdX

      where /dev/sdX is the path for the virtual hard disk.

      mkfs -t ext4 /dev/sdb

    4. To verify the USB storage device is mounted, enter: ls -l /MountPoint

      ls -l /CMS_Backup

      The virtual hard disk directory should display the following message: drwx------. 2 root root 16384 <timestamp> lost+found

    5. Enter the following command after you have mounted the file system to confirm it is set up properly: df -kl
      The output of the df -kl command is similar to the following: 
      Filesystem	1K-blocks	Used	Available	Use%	Mounted on
/dev/sda2	10190132	1280812	8385036	14%	  /
tmpfs	    8166828	    0	    8166828	0%	  /dev/shm
/dev/sda1	558108	    30884	498044	6%	    /boot
/dev/sda3	10190132	327688	9338160	4%	    /cms
/dev/sda7	32896876	49332	31169824	1%	    /export/home
/dev/sda10	12189612	995764	10567980	9%	  /opt
/dev/sda6	9948008	2924396	6511616	31%	   /storage
/dev/sda9	16382884	61776	15482248	1%	     /tmp
/dev/sda8	26704120	101180	25239792	1%	    /var
/dev/sdb	206293688	60684	195747244	1%	    /CMS_Backup
  7. Verify that files can be written to and read from the virtual hard disk by creating a file on the virtual hard disk and accessing the file from the virtual hard disk.
    Note:

    You need to update read and write permissions for the backup directories just created so that system and data backups can be performed by any user authorized to run these backups.

  8. Add the following line at the end of /etc/fstab to automatically reset the mount point if the system reboot occurs:

    /dev/sdb /CMS_Backup ext4 defaults 1 2