Ubuntu - Setup CIFS Auto Mount at Startup

I use shared folders for a number of Docker containers. For example, the shared folder can be on a NAS or a file server. Below I describe how I added the shared folders to my Ubuntu VM. The shared folders are created automatically on every reboot.

Setup with fstab

1. Install the CIFS Utils:

   sudo apt-get install cifs-utils
   

2. Create the folder (for example the archive folder within the fileserver) to which you want to point the mount:

   cd /mnt
   sudo mkdir -p fileserver/archive
   

3. I use the Nano text editor to get to the fstab:

   sudo nano /etc/fstab
   

4. Add to fstab:

   //fileserver/archive /mnt/fileserver/archive/ cifs vers=3.0,credentials=/home/.smbcred,file_mode=0777,dir_mode=0777,iocharset=utf8,nofail 0 0
   

If necessary, adjust the following:

//fileserver/archive
This is the folder you want to create a mount for

/mnt/fileserver/archive/
This is the directory on the Ubuntu VM (in my case) you want to point the mount to

Exit Nano (CTRL-X) and save the changes.

1. Put the credentials in a separate file. Do the following:

   cd /home
   sudo nano .smbcred
   

2. Add to .smbcred:

   username=<user>
   password=<pass>
   

Adjust the following:

username and password
Enter the username and password of the shared folder (on the file server or NAS)

Exit Nano (CTRL-X) and save the changes.

1. Test if it works with:

   sudo mount -a
   

If everything went well you should now see the shared folder in /mnt

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