mountall

mountall [OPTION]... [FILESYSTEM]...

-n, --no-act
    Perform a dry run; do not actually mount, just show what would be done.

-r, --remount
    Attempt to remount all filesystems if already mounted.

-k, --kernel-modules
    Load required kernel modules for filesystems before mounting.

-v, --verbose
    Produce verbose output during execution, showing detailed steps.

-g, --ignore-root
    Ignore the root filesystem (/) during the mounting process. Useful in specific boot scenarios.

-f, --force
    Force operations, attempting to ignore certain errors that would normally halt execution.

-c FILE, --config FILE
    Specify an alternate configuration file to use instead of the default /etc/fstab.

mountall is a utility, primarily part of the Upstart init system, responsible for mounting filesystems listed in /etc/fstab during the system boot process. It ensures that necessary filesystems (like /, /usr, /var, /tmp, etc.) are available before the system fully comes online.

Unlike mount -a, mountall was designed to handle specific Upstart-related functionalities, such as waiting for specific devices or network configurations, and integrating seamlessly with Upstart jobs. Its main purpose was to orchestrate the mounting of filesystems in the correct order and at the appropriate boot stage, considering dependencies and error handling. While it shares some functionality with mount -a, mountall was typically invoked by Upstart itself during the early boot sequence and was not commonly used interactively by users. Its use has largely diminished as systemd has replaced Upstart as the dominant init system in most Linux distributions, where systemd handles filesystem mounting using its own mechanisms (e.g., .mount units).

mountall is primarily associated with the Upstart init system. Most modern Linux distributions (e.g., Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu since 15.04) have transitioned to systemd, which handles filesystem mounting through its own .mount units and fstab processing (e.g., systemd-fstab-generator).

Consequently, mountall is deprecated or entirely absent on many current systems. Attempting to use it might result in "command not found" errors or unexpected behavior.

It was primarily an internal boot utility, not intended for interactive user use.

mountall was typically invoked by Upstart jobs, usually in the mountall-filesystems and mountall-net stages during system boot. It would read the entries in /etc/fstab and mount filesystems with the auto option, paying special attention to options like _netdev for network-dependent mounts and handling nofail options to prevent boot failures for non-critical mounts.

mountall was developed as part of the Upstart init system, which gained prominence in distributions like Ubuntu (starting from version 6.10, "Edgy Eft") as a replacement for the traditional SysVinit. Upstart aimed to provide faster and more robust boot processes by using event-driven mechanisms. mountall played a crucial role in this architecture, orchestrating filesystem mounts.

However, with the rise of systemd (first adopted by Fedora 15 in 2011, and later by most major distributions, including Debian and Ubuntu), Upstart's adoption waned. systemd provides its own comprehensive system for managing mounts, making mountall largely obsolete. Ubuntu, a primary proponent of Upstart, switched to systemd for desktop and server editions starting with 15.04 ("Vivid Vervet"), effectively sidelining mountall.

mount(8), umount(8), fstab(5), systemd.mount(5), systemd-fstab-generator(8)