8.5. Partition Labels
Labels are a feature of newer versions of Linux that allow a partition to be identified in the /etc/fstab file by a short name rather than its IDE or SCSI device file, such as /dev/hdb3. Device files can change if you change an IDE drive from one controller to another, change the ID of a SCSI drive, or even add a new SCSI drive with an ID lower than an existing drive. Any of these changes could cause a partition to fail to mount at boot time—possibly making your system unbootable. Partitions with labels can be referred to be label name, however, which does not change even if the device file does.
Some newer Linux distributions use labels by default for filesystems that you create at install time. If you use the Disk and ...
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