ISO files are whole disk images. They are a single image file that are used for burning to CD-ROM. In order to access the files inside the iso file, you need to mount it as a ‘Loop Device’. A loop device, vnd (vnode disk), or lofi (loopback file interface) is a pseudo-device that makes a file accessible as a Block device.
Mounting ISO image
To mount an iso image as loopback file system :
1. switch as root user.
2. Change directory to the location of the iso image.
# cd /path/to/iso/dvd.iso
3. Create a directory to mount iso image on :
# mkdir /iso_image
4. Mount the image with mount command :
# mount -o loop dvd.iso /iso_image
5. Verify the content of the directory :
# cd /iso_image # ls /iso_image
The iso image mounted here will be read-only, so you can not edit any of the files inside the mount point /iso_image.
Umounting ISO image
To umount an iso image :
# umount /mnt