Making a Directory (e.g /home) its own Partition Using a Separate Disk/Volume on MTN Cloud

Before You Start (prerequisites)

Have an MTN Cloud Console login with role (permissions) to view Provisioning - eg, have the Customer Admin User role assigned.
Have a provisioned virtual machine instance ready for configuration.

Tips: This workflow can also be applied to other directories beyond /home.

Separating /home onto a dedicated disk enhances performance, simplifies data management, and improves recovery options. You can attach multiple disks to a virtual machine, and any partition can be repurposed as needed.

Step 1: Identify New Volume (Disk)

Inside the console for the provisioned instance:

Run lsblk
Output should look like:

● New Disk (Volume) is vdb

Step 2: Partition and Format the Disk

Create a Partition

Run Command: sudo fdisk /dev/vdb
Inside fdisk, follow these prompts:
- Press n (new partition)
- Press p (primary partition)
- Press 1 (partition number 1)
- Press Enter (accept default first sector)
- Press Enter (accept default last sector - uses full disk)
- Press w (write changes and exit)
Result: You created a new partition called /dev/vdb1 that uses the entire disk

Format the Partition

Run Command: sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/vdb1
Result: Creates an ext4 filesystem on the partition, preparing it to store Linux files and displaying output with inode creation and filesystem features.

Step 3: Mount Temporarily and Copy /home

Create a Temporary Mount Point

Run Command: sudo mkdir /mnt/newhome

Result: Creates a directory to access the new disk temporarily

Mount the New Partition

Run Command: sudo mount /dev/vdb1 /mnt/newhome
Verify mount: df -h | grep newhome

Copy all home data

Run Command: sudo rsync -av /home/ /mnt/newhome/

Result: All files, folders, and hidden items in /home are copied, preserving user permissions and ownership, which may take some time depending on the data size.

Step 4: Update /etc/fstab

Get the UUID (Recommended Method)

Instead of using /dev/vdb1 (which can change), use the UUID:

Run Command: sudo blkid /dev/vdb1
Result:

Copy that value

Edit fstab

Run Command: sudo nano /etc/fstab
Add this line (using UUID):

UUID="Your UUID" /home ext4 defaults 0 2

Result:

● What each column means:

Device/UUID: What to mount
Mount point: Where to mount it (/home)
Filesystem type: ext4
Options: defaults (standard options)
Dump: 0 (don't backup with the dump command)
Pass: 2 (check filesystem after root, which is 1)

● Save and exit:

Press Ctrl+O (save)
Press Enter (confirm)
Press Ctrl+X (exit)

Step 5: Final Switch

Backup Current Home (Safety Step)

Run Command: sudo mv /home /home.old
Result: Renames your current `/home` directory to ` /home.old as a safety backup in case anything goes wrong.

Create New Home Directory

Run Command: sudo mkdir /home

Unmount Temporary Mount

Run Command: sudo umount /mnt/newhome

Mount the New Home

Run Command: sudo mount /home
Result: Reads /etc/fstab and mounts the new disk at /home

Step 6: Verification & Cleanup

The verification commands below should work without error:

Run Command: df -h /home
Run Command: ls -la ~/
Run Command: touch ~/testfile
Run Command: rm ~/testfile
Result:

Reboot and Verify

Run Command: sudo reboot
Run Command: df -h /home

Cleanup (After Confirming Everything Works)

Run Command: sudo rm -rf /home.old
Result: This removes the old backup copy.

⚠️ Important Safety Notes

Backup first: If you have important data, back it up externally before starting
Check active processes: Make sure no users are logged in during the switch:
- Run this Command: who
Test fstab before rebooting:
- Run this Command: sudo mount -a