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Which disk holds the catalog: checking with lsblk and findmnt

How to link a site path to a mount point and block device without confusing disk size, partition, and file system.

Drive bays in a storage system
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You increased the disk size in the control panel, but the site's free space did not change. Or a backup unexpectedly fills a very small partition. Before expanding anything else, you must trace the path from the directory to the file system and its source. The device name alone is insufficient.

View the block device tree

Commands are designed for Linux with util-linux. To get an overview, run:

lsblk -o NAME,TYPE,SIZE,FSTYPE,MOUNTPOINTS

The output helps distinguish disks, partitions, and other block levels. Explicitly listing columns makes the result clearer and more stable for comparison. Having a large disk does not mean the required file system already uses its full capacity.

If a specific installed version does not support the MOUNTPOINTS column, check the available columns in the documentation and use a supported variant. Do not consider a difference in output format a storage malfunction.

Find the file system by path

For the existing /var catalog:

findmnt --target /var -o TARGET,SOURCE,FSTYPE,OPTIONS

Insert the site's actual data catalog. The command displays the most suitable mount for this path. A separate directory within the tree may reside on a different source, so checking only the system root can be insufficient.

In the parameters, pay attention to the read mode and other mount features. However, do not change them based on a single unfamiliar term: some settings are required by the application or are determined by the storage device.

Consider multiple levels

The scheme may include a partition, logical volume, encryption, and a file system. A container adds its own mount view on top of this. Increasing the size of one level does not automatically increase the others.

Example: a cloud disk grew larger, but the partition and file system retained their original size. Diagnostics must capture this exact discrepancy. Expansion commands depend on the installed scheme and should not be selected based on a universal instruction for a different volume type.

Do not forget about network sources

Not every storage is represented as a standard local block device. A network resource may be visible via findmnt but absent as the corresponding disk in lsblk. This is not a contradiction: the tools describe different levels.

Bind mounting also changes the visibility of the tree without creating a new physical disk. When analyzing usage, it is important to understand whether you are viewing the same data through two different paths.

How to use the result

Create a short binding: application catalog, mount point, file system type, and source. Add the sizes of visible block levels and specify which one was recently modified. This record allows selecting the next procedure without guessing.

These commands do not perform expansion or verify recovery from it. If partition or volume changes are required, a separate plan is needed first, accounting for the backup and the specific storage stack. After the change, repeat the same map and verify the available volume specifically in the application catalog. The increased figure in the provider panel is only the start of this check.

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