NFSv4 for linux 2.6 kernels

Any recent distribution should include kernels and userspace utilities with NFSv4 and rpcsec_gss support, and development versions can generally be found at linux-nfs.org.

This page has some pointers to related development projects.

Much of this code is work in progress, which may be only lightly tested before release.

The NFSv4 Client Priorities and NFSv4 Server Priorities gives some oudated estimates of the progress of our effort.

CITI sources

In the case of code written for existing projects, we provide either a git repository or patches. Patches must be applied to the upstream sources, which are linked to under "Upstream sources", below.

• A kernel repository is available from git://linux-nfs.org/~bfields/linux.git, which you can also browse here.
• nfs4-acl-tools-0.3.3.tar.gz has commandline and GUI (pic) NFSv4 ACL tools, which deal directly with NFSv4 ACLs.
• acl-2.2.42-CITI_NFS4_ALL-2.dif. (For developers, there is also a git repository; browse the repository here or available from git://linux-nfs.org/~bfields/acl.git). This patches the standard posix acl tools so they can handle NFSv4 ACLs by translating between posix and NFSv4 ACLs. The translation is lossy, and the patches make fundamental utilities such as cp and ls depend on ldap and krb5 libraries (among others), so the above is preferred.
• SPKM-3 implementation. Updated 12/21/2005. To use this SPKM-3 implementation within NFSv4 requires a kernel patch (CITI_NFS4_ALL.dif does not yet contain the needed changes. Instead, try this patch). To compile SPKM-3, follow the instructions in the INSTALL file. It is recommended that you use the above provided version of libgssglue. To test out the userland SPKM-3 code, please use a simple client/server app provided in the tarball. If you have any questions, contact either Olga Kornievskaia or Andy Adamson

Note: Recent linux distributions have included NFSv4/rpcsec_gss support, which may be sufficient for your purposes; Building the following from source should only be necessary if you want to check for bugfixes or need new features in our very latest experimental code.)

Notes on building these can be found here.

• libgssglue-0.4.tar.gz
• librpcsecgss-0.19.tar.gz
• libnfsidmap-0.25.tar.gz with instructions for libnfsidmap use. For related information, follow the "NFSv4 in a Multi-Realm Environment" link below.
• nfs-utils-1.1.2-CITI_NFS4_ALL-1.dif (for developers, also available as separate patches, with comments).

Upstream sources

Unpatched tarballs to which the above patches apply:

• linux-2.6.25-rc9.tar.bz2
• nfs-utils-1.1.2.tar.gz (Also available from sourceforge)
• libevent
• acl_2.2.42-1.tar.gz
• (util-linux removed. Necessary changes are currently in most, if not all, distributions.)

Instructions

The following instructions are meant to be followed, in order, after downloading all of the sources above.

• Building and installing an nfsv4-enabled kernel
• Building and installing required userland components
• Setting up krb5
• Using NFSv4
• Using NFSv4 ACLs
• Using NFSv4 referrals
• NFSv4 in a Multi-Realm Environment with a Kerberos V cross-realm example.
• FAQ: troubleshooting tips and commonly asked questions.
• NFSv4 Development: brief advice for new developers.

Mailing list and irc

• Bug reports are appreciated; please report any problems to linux-nfs@vger.kernel.org; before posting, you may wish to consult the public archives of that list for similar problems.
• You may subscribe to linux-nfs@vger.kernel.org for discussion of the linux NFSv4 implementation.
• There is also a #linux-nfs irc channel on irc.oftc.net

Status

• We have a basic list of features supported by the current linux NFSv4 implementation.

NFSv4/linux work elsewhere

• Bull GNU/Linux NFSv4 Project: includes test results, administration tools, v6 support, NFS/IPv6 work, and more.
• OSDL's linux nfsv4 testing page.
• Learning NFSv4 with Fedora Core 2: Van Emery's detailed NFSv4 howto for FC2, the first distribution with built-in NFSv4 support.