Objectives

Use SSHFS to Mount Remote File Systems Over SSH

Prerequisites

  1. Server with Ubuntu/Debian installed.

Steps

Step 1: Installing SSHFS

Firstly, install the SSHFS software through apt-get.
apt-get install sshfs

Step 2: Create and Mount Remote File System

On your Linux machine, create a local directory as a destination for the mounted folder.
mkdir /mnt/share_drive

Now Use sshfs to mount the home directory of the remote system’s user to the newly-created directory.
sshfs -o allow_other,default_permissions root@192.168.1.1:/ /mnt/share_drive

The example uses IP 192.168.1.1 as the targeted host, do ensure you have specify the correct IP according to your setup.

Step 3: Unmount the Remote File System

If the mounted folder is no longer needed, you can simply unmount the folder via: –umount /mnt/share_drive

Step 4: Creating Persistent / Permanent Mounts

Persistent mounts are essential in order to retain the server’s mounted directories even through reboots. This can be easily done by updating the fstab file.

First, open the fstab file via nano file editor.
nano /etc/fstab

Move to the bottom of the file and add the following entry.
sshfs#root@192.168.1.1:/ /mnt/share_drive

The example uses IP 192.168.1.1 as the targeted host, do ensure you have specify the correct IP according to your setup.

Now reboot the system either through reboot OR init 6.
Your system should still retain the mounted directories even after rebooting.