<sect1 id="ch06-mtablink">
<title>Creating the mtab symlink</title>
<?dbhtml filename="mtablink.html" dir="chapter06"?>

<para>The next thing to do is to create a symlink pointing from
<filename>/etc/mtab</filename> to <filename>/proc/mounts</filename>.
This is done using the following command:</para>

<para><screen><userinput>ln -sf /proc/mounts /etc/mtab</userinput></screen></para>

<para>Creating this symlink avoids problems which can occur if
<filename class="directory">/</filename> is mounted read-only and the
information in <filename>/etc/mtab</filename> is stale (i.e. out of date).
By creating the symlink to <filename>/proc/mounts</filename>, we ensure that
the information on currently mounted devices is always up-to-date.</para>

<para>Note that using this symlink requires that you have support for the
proc filesystem compiled into your kernel. This support is included by
default, and should not be removed unless you <emphasis>really</emphasis>
know what you are doing, as some more things besides the
<filename>/etc/mtab</filename> symlink depend on proc being present.
In short, make sure you have proc filesystem support in your kernel.</para>

</sect1>

