Network File System (NFS) is a file-sharing mechanism that allows for the relatively seamless sharing of files across multiple networked machines. It works by allowing client systems to mount an NFS “share” (as in “shared disk”) from an NFS server as though it were a local disk.
I need to set up some simple file sharing. What is NFS and how do I set it up?
Network File System (NFS) is a file-sharing mechanism that allows for the relatively seamless sharing of files across multiple networked machines. It works by allowing client systems to mount an NFS “share” (as in “shared disk”) from an NFS server as though it were a local disk.
Of course, this comes with some obvious risks. If misapplied, or insecure, it could allow a malicious user to cause all kinds of mischief on a system. So correct configuration is critical. One specific configuration detail worth paying special attention to is that NFS systems rely purely on IP address or hostname for identification and authentication. So it’s a good idea to be very specific about which machines will be allowed to connect to the server.
If you want to give NFS a spin, you will need to first grab a copy and ensure that support for it has been compiled into your Linux kernel.
Linux kernels support generic NFSv2 as standard, and kernels 2.4+ have full NFSv3 support. The requisite software can be downloaded from http://nfs.sourceforge.net/. Documentation on how to install the NFS software is also available from this site.
Once this is done, from the server side, it is necessary to configure which directories will be exported to which clients, and with what options.
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