Changes in /etc/fstab don't get applied automatically

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Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12

Situation

If a mount entry in /etc/fstab is changed, the changes don't get applied automatically.

For example, if a mount, configured in /etc/fstab, fails during boot, the system will go
into the emergency shell.
From there, it is not sufficient to just comment out the failing fstab entry and then to exit the
emergeny shell to continue booting (this was the procedure in SLES11).

Resolution

Systemd generates mount units for each entry in /etc/fstab.
These mount units don't get updated automatically when fstab is modified.
It is required to run the command:

systemctl daemon-reload

in order to update the mount units.

Alternatively, the update can be achieved by rebooting the system.
This will recreate all mount units using the current fstab settings.

Disclaimer

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