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EX200 Configure local storage Practice Question

Exhibit

NAME   MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda      8:0    0   20G  0 disk
├─sda1   8:1    0  500M  0 part /boot
├─sda2   8:2    0    2G  0 part [SWAP]
├─sda3   8:3    0   10G  0 part /
└─sda4   8:4    0  7.5G  0 part /home
sdb      8:16   0   10G  0 disk
└─sdb1   8:17   0   10G  0 part

Refer to the exhibit. An administrator runs lsblk and sees the above output. The administrator wants to mount /dev/sdb1 at /mnt/data. What should be done first?

⚠ Common exam trap

Red Hat often tests the prerequisite of creating the mount point directory, tricking candidates who assume mount will create it automatically or who jump to formatting or fstab editing without verifying the directory exists.

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

✓

Create the directory /mnt/data and then run mount

Before mounting a filesystem, the mount point directory must exist. Option A correctly instructs to create /mnt/data with mkdir -p /mnt/data and then run mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/data. Without the directory, the mount command will fail with a 'mount point does not exist' error.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

  • ✓

    Create the directory /mnt/data and then run mount

    Why this is correct

    The mount point directory must exist as a directory in the current root filesystem before any device can be attached to it. Creating /mnt/data with mkdir provides that directory, after which mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/data associates the block device's filesystem with that path. Without this step, the kernel has no inode to anchor the mounted filesystem to, and the mount syscall will fail with ENOENT.

  • ✗

    Run mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/data

    Why it's wrong here

    Running mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/data immediately will fail because /mnt/data does not exist; mount(8) cannot create mount points. The kernel requires a valid path to an existing directory, and returns 'mount: /mnt/data: mount point does not exist' if the path is absent. You must first create the directory with mkdir, then issue the mount command.

  • ✗

    Run partprobe to detect the partition

    Why it's wrong here

    partprobe is used to notify the kernel of changes to the partition table so it can re-read a device's partition layout. In this scenario, lsblk already shows /dev/sdb1, meaning the partition was already detected and registered in /sys/block/sdb/sdb1. Running partprobe would no-op or re-scan, but it performs no mounting operation and does not create a mount point.

  • ✗

    Run mkfs.xfs /dev/sdb1

    Why it's wrong here

    mkfs.xfs /dev/sdb1 writes a new XFS filesystem superblock and metadata to the partition, destroying any existing data and filesystem that may already be present. The administrator's immediate requirement is to mount the existing filesystem, not reinitialize it. Formatting should only be done deliberately, after checking with blkid or file -s, and is a separate step from attaching a filesystem to the directory tree.

  • ✗

    Edit /etc/fstab and add an entry

    Why it's wrong here

    Editing /etc/fstab adds an entry for automatic mounting at boot or for use with 'mount -a', but it does not perform an immediate mount. Even after a correct fstab entry is added, you still need to explicitly run 'mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/data' or 'mount -a' to attach the filesystem now. Since the goal is simply to mount the device right away, the fstab modification is unnecessary and could introduce boot-time failures if misconfigured.

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JA

Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security

Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva

This EX200 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Red Hat 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 EX200 exam.