Contents
Distributing and sharing file systems over a network is a common
task in corporate environments. NFS
is a
proven system that also works together with the yellow pages
protocol NIS
. For a more secure
protocol that works together with LDAP
and
may also be kerberized, check NFSv4
.
NFS works with NIS to make a network transparent to the user. With NFS, it is possible to distribute arbitrary file systems over the network. With an appropriate setup, users always find themselves in the same environment independent of the terminal they currently use.
Like NIS, NFS is a client/server system. However, a machine can be both—it can supply file systems over the network (export) and mount file systems from other hosts (import).
![]() | Need for DNS |
---|---|
In principle, all exports can be made using IP addresses only. To avoid time-outs, you should have a working DNS system. This is necessary at least for logging purposes, because the mountd daemon does reverse lookups. |
To configure your host as an NFS client, you do not need to install additional software. All packages needed to configure an NFS client are installed by default.
NFS server software is not part of the default installation. To install
the NFS server software, start YaST and select
NFS Server
. Confirm the installation of the
packages to finish the installation process.