Linux mount remote filesystems automatically at boot time

Now you know how to mount a NFS or Windows/Samba remote file system. It is time to mount remote filesystems automatically at boot time using /etc/fstab (another possibility is mount local and remote file system on demand using autofs service).

Mount Remote NFS File system

The file /etc/fstab - stores static information about the filesystems. It contains descriptive information about the various file systems. fstab is only read by programs, and not written; it is the duty of the system administrator to properly create and maintain this file. Each filesystem is described on a separate line; fields on each line are separated by tabs or spaces. Lines starting with '#' are comments. Use following syntax to mount NFS fs:
{NFSServer}:{/remote/path/2/export} {/mnt/nfs} nfs {NFS-Options} 0 0

For example:
# mkdir /mnt/sales # vi /etc/fstab
Append following line:
nfsserver.nixcraft.in:/data/sales /mnt/sales nfs defaults 0 0

Save and close the file.

Where,

nfsserver.nixcraft.in: Remote NFS server name (you can use IP address or FQDN)
/data/sales: Remote shared (exported) directory
/mnt/sales: Local mount point
nfs: File system type

You can specify comma separated list of NFS options as described in mount and fstab man pages. For example:
nfsserver.nixcraft.in:/data/sales /mnt/sales nfs nocto, rsize=32768,wsize=32768 0 0