LFCS Storage Management Practice Question
Which THREE steps are required to create a new ext4 filesystem on /dev/sdc1 and ensure it is automatically mounted at /mnt/data at boot? (Choose three.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse the temporary `mount` command (which does not persist across reboots) with the permanent configuration required in /etc/fstab, and may also mistakenly think setting a filesystem label is a required step for creating or mounting a filesystem.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdc1
Option B (mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdc1) is correct because mkfs.ext4 is the command that actually creates a new ext4 filesystem on the specified partition, which is the core requirement of the task. Option C (mkdir /mnt/data) is correct because the mount point directory must exist before the filesystem can be mounted there, and /mnt/data is not guaranteed to exist by default. Option E (add entry to /etc/fstab for /dev/sdc1) is correct because /etc/fstab is the system configuration file that defines filesystems to be mounted automatically at boot, so an entry mapping /dev/sdc1 to /mnt/data is required for persistent mounting. Option A (e2label /dev/sdc1 data) is not required because labeling the filesystem is optional and not necessary to create or auto-mount it. Option D (mount /dev/sdc1 /mnt/data) is not required as a step for boot-time mounting, since the fstab entry handles mounting at boot; a manual mount would only be needed to use it immediately without rebooting.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
e2label /dev/sdc1 data
Why it's wrong here
Setting a label is optional.
- ✓
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdc1
Why this is correct
Running `mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdc1` writes a fresh ext4 superblock, inode tables and journal directly onto the partition, satisfying the stem's requirement to create the filesystem. Without this formatting step, no ext4 structure exists for the later mount at /mnt/data, so the remaining steps would fail.
- ✓
mkdir /mnt/data
Why this is correct
Creating the mount point directory is mandatory before any filesystem can be mounted there; without /mnt/data existing, the mount command and the /etc/fstab entry would both fail. This satisfies the stem's requirement that the filesystem be automatically mounted at boot, since fstab references a path that must already exist.
- ✗
mount /dev/sdc1 /mnt/data
Why it's wrong here
Mounting only attaches the filesystem for the current session; it writes nothing to /etc/fstab, so the mount disappears after reboot. It is tempting because mounting is genuinely required to verify the new filesystem works, but the boot-persistence requirement demands an fstab entry instead.
- ✓
add entry to /etc/fstab for /dev/sdc1
Why this is correct
Adding the filesystem to /etc/fstab is what satisfies the automatic-mount-at-boot constraint; the kernel reads this file during boot and mounts listed filesystems. The entry must specify /dev/sdc1, /mnt/data, the ext4 type, and mount options, otherwise systemd will skip or fail the mount.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This LFCS practice question is part of Courseiva's free Linux Foundation certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the LFCS exam.