Introduction
Network File System (NFS) allows you to share directories and files across a network, enabling multiple systems to access common data as if it were stored locally.
In this guide, we will configure an NFS server on Rocky Linux 8, set up client-side mounting on both Rocky Linux and Ubuntu, and demonstrate practical usage.
Step 1: Install NFS Server on Rocky Linux 8
sudo dnf install nfs-utils -y
sudo systemctl enable --now nfs-server
Step 2: Configure Export Directory
Create a shared directory and update NFS exports configuration:
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/nfs_share
sudo chown -R nfsnobody:nfsnobody /mnt/nfs_share
sudo chmod 777 /mnt/nfs_share
echo "/mnt/nfs_share 192.168.1.0/24(rw,sync,no_root_squash)" | sudo tee -a /etc/exports
sudo exportfs -rav
Step 3: Adjust Firewall
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=nfs
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=mountd
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=rpc-bind
sudo firewall-cmd --reload
Step 4: Client Configuration (Rocky Linux 8)
On the client system, install NFS utilities and mount the shared directory:
sudo dnf install nfs-utils -y
sudo mount -t nfs 192.168.1.100:/mnt/nfs_share /mnt
Step 5: Client Configuration (Ubuntu)
On Ubuntu clients, install the required package and mount the NFS share:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install nfs-common -y
sudo mount -t nfs 192.168.1.100:/mnt/nfs_share /mnt
Step 6: Permanent Mount via fstab
To mount automatically on reboot, add the following line to
/etc/fstab:
192.168.1.100:/mnt/nfs_share /mnt nfs defaults 0 0
Uses of NFS
- Centralized file sharing for teams
- Storing user home directories
- Backup and recovery storage
- Application data sharing in enterprise environments
Conclusion
By configuring an NFS server, administrators can efficiently share data between Rocky Linux and Ubuntu clients.
With proper firewall and access controls, NFS is a reliable solution for centralized storage in both small and large-scale environments.
