EX200 Configure local storage Practice Question
Which of the following is the correct way to persistently mount a filesystem using its UUID?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse the 'UUID=' fstab syntax with the /dev/disk/by-uuid/ path, or mistakenly think 'LABEL=' or 'PARTUUID=' are interchangeable with UUID for filesystem identification.
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
✓
UUID=1234 /mnt xfs defaults 0 0
The /etc/fstab entry uses the 'UUID=' prefix followed by the actual UUID value to persistently mount a filesystem. The kernel reads this line at boot time and resolves the UUID to the corresponding block device, ensuring the mount is consistent regardless of device name changes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
LABEL=1234 /mnt xfs defaults 0 0
Why it's wrong here
LABEL=1234 is invalid for this requirement because the tokens after the equals sign are filesystem labels, not filesystem UUIDs. The intended device is identified by UUID 1234, but this entry would tell the system to search for a volume whose human-readable label is literally '1234', which does not exist. Labels are also not guaranteed to be unique across a system, so relying on LABEL= for persistent mounts is less robust than using the filesystem UUID.
- ✓
UUID=1234 /mnt xfs defaults 0 0
Why this is correct
This is the correct fstab entry because UUID= directly references the filesystem's unique identifier, which is stored in the XFS superblock. The first field of an fstab line may use UUID= to make the mount permanent and independent of device names like /dev/sdb1, which can change across reboots. The remaining fields specify the mount point (/mnt), filesystem type (xfs), options (defaults), dump (0), and fsck pass (0), exactly as required.
- ✗
/dev/disk/by-uuid/1234 /mnt xfs defaults 0 0
Why it's wrong here
Although /dev/disk/by-uuid/1234 is a valid udev-managed symlink that points to the block device, it is not the UUID keyword syntax that fstab recognizes as a stable identifier. Using this path as the first field makes the mount dependent on the presence of the /dev filesystem and udev database during early boot, which can be problematic for root filesystems. The standard and more reliable method is to place UUID=1234 in the first field, rather than a symlink path that resolves to the device node.
- ✗
PARTUUID=1234 /mnt xfs defaults 0 0
Why it's wrong here
PARTUUID= refers to a partition entry's unique identifier in the GUID Partition Table (GPT), not to the filesystem UUID assigned by tools like mkfs.xfs. The given value 1234 is stated as the filesystem UUID, which is what UUID= matches; using PARTUUID= instead would look for a partition-table identifier, a completely different namespace. Since an XFS filesystem's UUID lives in the superblock and not in the partition table, this entry would fail to mount the intended filesystem.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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