?? Simplifying AWS EC2 Management: Automounting EBS Volumes on Reboot

By default, additional EBS volumes (other than the root volume) get unmounted after an EC2 instance reboot. To make life easier, I recently explored how to configure automounting EBS volumes on reboot by updating the /etc/fstab file.

Here’s a quick overview of the steps:

1?? Backup Your fstab File Always back up your /etc/fstab file before making any changes:

sudo cp /etc/fstab /etc/fstab.bak        

2?? Edit the fstab File: Add an entry to the /etc/fstab file in this format:

vim /etc/fstab

Example: /dev/xvdb /newvolume ext4 defaults,nofail 0 0        

3?? Validate the ConfigurationRun the following command to ensure there are no errors in the configuration:

sudo mount -a        

?? Now, after every reboot, the additional EBS volumes will mount automatically to the specified directory!

?? Why Automount?

• Convenience: Saves time and eliminates the need for manual mounting after every reboot.
• Consistency: Ensures critical directories are always available for your applications.
• Reliability: The nofail option prevents boot failures even if the EBS volume isn’t available.