Which command is used to manage partitions smaller than 2GB?

The command that is used to manage partitions smaller than 2GB is fdisk. Fdisk is a popular command-line utility that allows users to create, delete, and manipulate disk partitions on Linux systems. It specifically works with MBR (Master Boot Record) partitioning, which supports disks up to 2TB and individual partitions up to 2GB.

This utility provides a straightforward interface for partitioning disks, making it suitable for managing smaller partitions. While it can be used for larger partitions as well, its primary association historically has been with systems that utilize MBR for partitioning, where the limitations on the size of individual partitions come into play.

Other commands serve different purposes. Gdisk is designed for GUID Partition Table (GPT) partitioning, which is more suitable for larger disks and partitions. The mount -a command is primarily used for mounting filesystems specified in the /etc/fstab file rather than managing partitions directly. Blkid is focused on identifying or printing block device attributes, such as UUIDs, but does not provide functionality for creating or modifying partitions. Thus, fdisk is the correct choice for managing partitions less than 2GB.