Linux File System Mounting

Introduction

In the heart of a mystical night market, hidden among various arcane stalls, there lies a secluded tent draped with shadows and whispers. Within this secret haven, a revered collector of magical artifacts conducts their clandestine business, exchanging enchantments for the right price. This collector, a known conjuror of digital spells, has an array of esoteric knowledge that they are ready to impart on an apprentice willing to learn the arcane arts of Linux File System Mounting.

Your quest, should you choose to accept it, is to dive into the depths of the Linux file system, mastering the magical rites of mounting and unmounting drives, unveiling hidden directories, and preserving precious data. Through this journey, your objective is to become adept in the knowledge and manipulation of file systems, a skill highly valued by the enigmatic collector.

The allure of the night market waits, and the hidden trove of knowledge is ready to be unlocked. Will you rise to become a master of mounts and file systems? The collector awaits your presence.

Skills Graph

Preparing the Mounting Spell

In this step, you will learn the basic incantations necessary to mount a file system. Before embarking on this magical journey, you must create a mystical storage device, known in the common tongue as a "loopback device", to simulate the experience of mounting physical storage.

First, navigate to the tent's workspace:

cd ~/project

Now, conjure a blank file that will serve as your enchanted device:

dd if=/dev/zero of=magic_storage.img bs=1M count=100

This spell will create a 100MB file named magic_storage.img, which will act as your storage device. Explain to the students that dd is a powerful utility for copying and converting data, and in this context, it is generating a file filled with zeros.

Next, you must create a file system on this device:

mkfs.ext4 magic_storage.img

Once created, prepare a secret chamber where you will mount this device:

mkdir ~/project/magic_mount

Now, perform the mounting ritual:

sudo mount magic_storage.img ~/project/magic_mount

With the device mounted, use df -hT to verify that your device appears in the list of mounted file systems.

Invoking the Mounting Charms

Now that you are familiar with the initial rites, it's time to enhance your technique by mounting with additional options. You will explore the 'noexec' and 'ro' (read-only) incantations.

Begin by unmounting the previous magical device:

sudo umount ~/project/magic_mount

Now, remount the enchanted device with the 'noexec' restriction, preventing the execution of any binaries from within your mount:

sudo mount -o noexec magic_storage.img ~/project/magic_mount

And prove that it worked:

cd ~/project/magic_mount

Let's switch to the root user:

sudo su -

Now, attempt to execute a script from within the mount:

echo "echo Hello, magical world\!" > hello.sh
chmod +x hello.sh
./hello.sh || echo "Spellbinding\! Execution is prevented\!"

Attempt to create a file in the read-only mount to show that it's indeed immutable:

sudo touch ~/project/magic_mount/test_file && echo "File creation permitted" || echo "File creation blocked by read-only protection"

Summary

In this lab, we traversed the secretive pathways of Linux File System Mounting, initiating the participant into the digital lore of mounts, devices, and file system manipulation. Mounting challenges were carefully crafted within an intriguing narrative to foster engagement and curiosity.

Participants gained hands-on experience by creating loopback devices, mounting and unmounting file systems with different options, understanding the consequences of 'noexec' and 'ro', and familiarizing themselves with essential command-line tools.

Observing the magics of file mounting in a controlled environment allows for a deeper appreciation of the balance and precautions required when interacting with the Linux file system, ensuring participants leave the lab not only more knowledgeable, but also enchanted by the world of Linux sorcery.