Best way to add internal hard drive for media to ubuntu server

Question

So, I've got the latest version of Ubuntu server, Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS (GNU/Linux 5.4.0-47-generic x86_64), installed and running off a ssd.

I've already added the hard drive and managed it with Cockpit but I'm wondering whether I've set it up correctly. Especially the mount point. I've also seen the it change from sdd to sdc after a restart, is this normal?

This is what i've currently got: fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sdc: 3.65 TiB, 4000787030016 bytes, 7814037168 sectors
Disk model: WDC WD40EZRX-00S
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: B315D095-3B0E-4CB7-A202-E1F14FCA1690
Device     Start        End    Sectors  Size Type
/dev/sdc1   2048 7814035455 7814033408  3.7T Linux filesystem

Thanks

Answer 1

1. Your mount point is determined by a location that your mediaserver application can access on the filesystem.

   This is important in locked-down systems like Ubuntu Core, which can only access /home and /media. On ordinary Ubuntu Server, it's a matter of preference ( I like to use /var/media_disk ) . If you use a clever mount point, remember to fix the ownership so you and your mediaserver application can access it.

2. Use the command sudo blkid to find the UUID of your media partition(s).

3. Put the mount point and the UUID together in /etc/fstab

   # /etc/fstab: static file system information.
   # <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
   UUID=aaaaaaaa-bbbb-cccc-dddd-eeeeeeeeeeee /                     ext4    errors=remount-ro 0       1
   UUID=bbbbbbbb-cccc-dddd-eeee-ffffffffffff /var/movies_partition ext4    noauto,errors=remount-ro 2       2
   

   • Note that mounting lots of partitions may slow your boot (especially in fsck season). I start my mediaserver disks slightly later using a systemd twiddle, hence the 'noauto'.

Answer 2

Updated

Yes. Disk device IDs (sda,sdb,etc) can change. These designations are assigned at boot time by when the device is discovered. This is why it is important to mount volumes using their unique identifier or UUID. The UUID is easy to find:

ls -l /dev/disk/by-uuid or lsblk -o MOUNTPOINT,NAME,UUID

Add an entry to /etc/fstab to have your volume mounted automatically at boot time using this UUID Example:

UUID=03361cf5-83bf-40f9-b3aa-f172c4cec12f /var/multimedia ext4 rw,relatime 0 1

Once in /etc/fstab, your volume will mount automatically at boot time. Or you can mount manually by:

sudo mount /var/multimedia

Once mounted, you will need to ensure users have appropriate access and permissions on the volume. The "chown" and "chmod" commands are used for this. Typical "full" access would be accomplished by:

sudo chown myuser:myuser /var/foldername
sudo chmod 774 /var/foldername

Test your access by creating a file in the folder:

touch /var/foldername/testfile

If you are using this volume for a particular application that has a dedicated user account or group, refer to your applications documentation for the appropriate settings.