diff --git a/src/mad/sh/scripts_common.sh b/src/mad/sh/scripts_common.sh
index 9816d56988..6aa3d04e56 100644
--- a/src/mad/sh/scripts_common.sh
+++ b/src/mad/sh/scripts_common.sh
@@ -433,12 +433,18 @@ EOF
     echo "$SSH_EXEC_OUT"
 }
 
-#Creates path ($2) at $1
+# Creates path ($2) at $1. If third parameter is "monitor" creates the
+# file ".monitor" in the directory. Used for ssh disk monitoring
 function ssh_make_path
 {
     SSH_EXEC_ERR=`$SSH $1 sh -s 2>&1 1>/dev/null <<EOF
+set -e
 if [ ! -d $2 ]; then
    mkdir -p $2
+
+   if [ "monitor" = "$3" ]; then
+       touch "$2/.monitor"
+   fi
 fi
 EOF`
     SSH_EXEC_RC=$?