Exporting NFS Filesystems
The /etc/exports file controls what filesystems the NFS server exports. Its format is as follows:
directory hostname(options) |
The (options) are not required. For example:
/mnt/export speedy.redhat.com |
would allow users from speedy.redhat.com to mount /mnt/export with the default read-only permissions, but:
/mnt/export speedy.redhat.com(rw) |
would allow users from speedy.redhat.com to mount /mnt/export with read-write privileges.
 | Caution | |
|---|---|---|
Be careful with spaces in the /etc/exports file. If there are no spaces between the hostname and the options in parentheses, the options apply only to the hostname. If there is a space between the hostname and the options, the options apply to the rest of the world. For example, examine the following lines:
The first line grants users from speedy.redhat.com read-write access and denies all other users. The second line grants users from speedy.redhat.com read-only access (the default) and allows the rest of the world read-write access. |
Refer to the Official Red Hat Linux Reference Guide for a list of options that can be specified in the /etc/exports file.
Each time you change /etc/exports, you must tell the NFS daemons to examine it for new information, or reload the configuration file:
/sbin/service nfs reload |
Starting and Stopping the Server
On the server that is exporting NFS filesystems, the nfs service must be running.
View the status of the NFS daemon with the command
/sbin/service nfs status |
Start the NFS daemon with the command
/sbin/service nfs start |
Stop the NFS daemon with the command
/sbin/service nfs stop |
To start the nfs service at boot time, use the command:
/sbin/chkconfig --level 345 nfs on |
You can also use ntsysv or serviceconf to configure which services start at boot time. Refer to Chapter 8 for details.