Disk management in Linux is about handling storage devices, partitions, and file systems to ensure proper allocation, performance, and data reliability. It includes tasks like checking available space, mounting/unmounting disks, creating partitions, formatting, and monitoring disk health.

Checking Disk Space and Usage

• View mounted filesystems and usage

  df -h
  

  (Shows disk space usage in a human-readable format)

• Check directory/file usage

  du -sh /path/to/dir
  du -h --max-depth=1 /var
  

  

💡 Note: You can adjust the depth level based on how deeply you want to check the folder structure of a specific directory.

• Check block devices

  lsblk
  

Mounting and Unmounting

• Mount a device

  sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/data
  

• Unmount a device

  sudo umount /mnt/data
  

• Persistent mounting → Add entry in /etc/fstab
  Example:

  /dev/sdb1   /mnt/data   ext4   defaults   0   2
  

  You can create a one-line command to get the UUID and filesystem type from lsblk and automatically append it to your /etc/fstab file using tee. This is a great way to avoid typos.

# Customize these variables
DEVICE="/dev/sda1"
MOUNT_POINT="/mnt/data"
OPTIONS="defaults,nofail"

# The command to copy and paste
UUID=$(sudo blkid -s UUID -o value "$DEVICE")
FSTYPE=$(sudo blkid -s TYPE -o value "$DEVICE")
echo "UUID=$UUID $MOUNT_POINT $FSTYPE $OPTIONS 0 2" | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab

Partition Management

• List partitions

  sudo fdisk -l
  

  

• Create/modify partitions (interactive tools):

  • fdisk /dev/sdb (for MBR)

  • parted /dev/sdb (for GPT/large disks)

File System Management

• Format partition

  sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb1
  

• Check filesystem health

  sudo fsck /dev/sdb1
  

Disk Monitoring & Health

• Check disk I/O performance

  sudo dnf install smartmontools # use it if you dont have this package installed in your system
  

  iostat
  

  

• SMART monitoring (for hardware health)

  💡 You need to download and install the package first if it is not already included with your Linux system.

•     sudo dnf install smartmontools
  

•     sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda
  

  

• Check disk usage in real time

  💡 You need to download and install the package first if it is not already included with your Linux system.

  iotop
  

  

Key Takeaways

• df and du → check usage.

• mount, umount, /etc/fstab → control mounting.

• fdisk/parted → manage partitions.

• mkfs, fsck → handle file systems.

• smartctl, iostat, iotop → monitor health and performance.

Disk Management Cheatsheet

⚡ Quick Mnemonics:

• df/du → Usage

• mount/umount/fstab → Access

• fdisk/parted → Partitions

• mkfs/fsck → Filesystems

• iostat/iotop/smartctl → Monitoring

Conclusion

You’ve successfully completed the Linux Fundamentals Series 🚀.

So far, you’ve learned:

• Basic Commands

• File Permissions & Ownership

• User & Group Management

• Package Management

• Scheduling (cron & at)

• Shell Scripting Fundamentals

• Networking Basics

• Disk Management

With these skills, you can confidently manage a Linux system, automate tasks, configure networks, and handle storage.

Thank You!

Thank you for following along this journey. Your consistency and curiosity are what will make you a great Linux administrator. 🐧

Stay tuned for Linux Admin 2 — where we’ll go deeper into advanced administration, storage, networking, and security.

"Linux is not just an OS, it’s a mindset — keep experimenting, keep learning." 💻

What’s Next?

Would you like to:

• Continue with Linux Admin 2 → Advanced topics like LVM, RAID, systemd, and security, or

• Jump into DevOps → Hands-on with Docker, Kubernetes, and Ansible?

The choice is yours, depending on whether you want to master Linux deeper first or move toward DevOps and cloud workflows.

Contact

If you notice any mistakes, broken commands, or unclear sections in these articles, feel free to reach out with feedback or questions. Your input helps improve the series for everyone.