Overview
This lecture covers how to configure and install NFS-Utils 2.5.2 for network file sharing on Linux, including kernel setup, installation steps, and key configuration for both server and client systems.
Kernel Configuration
- Enable "Network File Systems" in the kernel, selecting NFS client and/or server support as needed.
- For NFS v3, add
nfsver=3 to mount options to avoid negotiation errors, especially if NFS v4 is enabled.
- Using
nfsver=3 helps prevent mount option error messages even if NFS v4 is not supported.
Installation of NFS Utilities
- Ensure "nobody" user and "nogroup" group (usually UID and GID 99) exist before installing.
- Configure with:
./configure --prefix=/usr --sysconfdir=/etc --sbindir=/sbin --disable-nfsv4 --disable-gss.
- Run
make and then as root: make install.
- Set permissions:
chmod u+w,go+r /sbin/mount.nfs.
- Change ownership of
/var/lib/nfs to nobody.nogroup.
Server Configuration
- Define exported directories in
/etc/exports, e.g., /home 192.168.0.0/24(rw,subtree_check,anonuid=99,anongid=99).
- Install the
nfs-server boot script to start NFS server services at boot: make install-nfs-server.
- Configure
/etc/sysconfig/nfs-server with desired port and process parameters.
- Parameters may optionally go in
/etc/sysconfig/rc.site.
Client Configuration
- Add NFS mounts to
/etc/fstab, e.g., <server-name>:/home /home nfs rw,_netdev 0 0.
- Use NFS options like
rw (read/write), ro (read-only), _netdev (for automatic mounting at boot).
- If needed, install
nfs-client init script and the netfs bootscript for automounting.
Contents and Tools
- Main programs include: exportfs, mount.nfs, nfsconf, nfsstat, rpc.mountd, rpc.nfsd, rpc.statd, and others.
- No libraries are installed; directory
/var/lib/nfs created.
Key Terms & Definitions
- NFS (Network File System) — Protocol for sharing files over a network.
- nfsver=3 — Mount option to force use of NFS version 3.
- nobody/nogroup — Unprivileged user and group for NFS processes.
- /etc/exports — File specifying directories shared by the NFS server.
- /etc/fstab — File defining mount points for filesystems on the client.
- rpc.statd — Program used for NFS file locking services.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Recompile kernel if necessary with required NFS options.
- Create "nobody" user and "nogroup" group if they don't exist.
- Configure NFS utilities, server or client settings as needed.
- Install and enable appropriate boot scripts for server or client.
- Review man pages and NFS HowTo documentation for further details.