Linux Block Device Notes

• ls -l /dev/disk/by-uuid/ will list the disks with UUIDs
• lsblk to list partitions (or list block devices)
• lsblk -f or blkid to list the UUIDs
• sudo blkid will list data blocks

• sudo parted -l - to see all available partition information
• sudo parted /dev/sda - to partition the specific drive

When in parted:

• print to see current partition information
• mkpart help to list option
• mklabel gpt to give drive label gpt
• mkpart help mkpart to list specific help items on mkpart
• mkpart primary ext4 0% 100% to make a partition that take the full optimised drive area
• rm 1 to remove partition 1

sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda1 - to format the drive

sudo vim /etc/fstab -to edit the boot disk mount table, remember to make matching mount point directories

mount -t ext4 /dev/sdb1 /run/media/diska

To mount a NFS manually:

• sudo mount -t nfs -o rw,vers=4 192.168.1.5:/export/Disk1 /mnt/backup1
• sudo mount -t nfs -o rw,vers=4 192.168.1.5:/export/Disk2 /mnt/backup2

Where:

• -t nfs : type nfs
• -o : options, options are separated by commas with no spaces
  • rw : read / write
  • vers=4 : version 4 of nfs
• 192.168.1.5:/export/Disk1 is the remote exported NFS mount point
• /mnt/backup1 : is the local mount point, note this directory must exist, ideally empty, any existing contents are usually invisible and otherwise ignored

sudo umount /run/media/diska

sudo vim /etc/fstab

My main server has a parity disk that is normally only is used once a week. I would like to place this hard disk in to stand-by to reduce power and wear and tear upon it.

• sudo smartctl -i -n standby /dev/sdb will chack the HD activity mode. It does this without starting up the drive, which hdparm may do.
  • If in standby mode it reports back only: “Device is in STANDBY mode, exit(2)” otherwise
  • active or idel mode

    smartctl 7.4 2023-08-01 r5530 [x86_64-linux-6.12.41+deb13-amd64] (local build)
    Copyright (C) 2002-23, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org
    
    === START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
    Model Family:     Western Digital Red Plus
    Device Model:     WDC WD100EFAX-68LHPN0
    Serial Number:    xxxxxx
    LU WWN Device Id: xxxxxxxxx
    Firmware Version: 83.H0A83
    User Capacity:    10,000,831,348,736 bytes [10.0 TB]
    Sector Sizes:     512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical
    Rotation Rate:    5400 rpm
    Form Factor:      3.5 inches
    Device is:        In smartctl database 7.3/5804
    ATA Version is:   ACS-2, ATA8-ACS T13/1699-D revision 4
    SATA Version is:  SATA 3.2, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 6.0 Gb/s)
    Local Time is:    Sun Sep 14 11:21:22 2025 AWST
    SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
    SMART support is: Enabled
    Power mode is:    ACTIVE or IDLE

• sudo hdparm -y /dev/sdb sets the HD into standby mode

To for the HD into standby mode after reboot and set the standby time crate and use an on boot systemd service.

/etc/systemd/system/hdparm.service

[Unit]
Description=hdparm sleep
 
[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/usr/sbin/hdparm -q -S 120 -y /dev/sdb
 
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Some tips:

• use whereis hdparm to confirm where the command is installed.
• use sudo apt install hdparm to install if required
• use sudo systemctl daemon-reload after modifying or creating a new systemd service to update systemd configuration
• use sudo systemctl status hdparm.service to see status of service and enable if required.

idle3-tools provides a linux/unix utility that can disable, get and set the value of the infamous idle3 timer found on recent Western Digital Hard Disk Drives.

• IDLE3CTL(8) man page from Archlinux

• How To Partition and Format Storage Devices in Linux