This subchapter looks at Network File System (NFS) on UNIX/Linux/Mac OS X.
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This subchapter looks at Network File System (NFS) on UNIX/Linux/Mac OS X.
The Network File System (NFS) allows a directory on one machine to be accessed from another machine. This is an important feature of UNIX.
The procedure for setting up the Network File System is called mounting.
NFS provides a seemless method to merge different file systems from different physical machines into a large shared structure. NFS works across different kinds of UNIX or Linux and even different kinds of processors.
With NFS, a user doesn’t need to know or keep track of the actual physical locations of directories and files. The NFS files and directories appear to be a normal part of the file system and are accessed with the exact same methods as any local file or directory.
The mount command will replace a local directory with a directory from another machine. Anyone viewing the mounted directory will see the remote directory as if it were local.
The export command is used to make a directory available for other computers to mount it.
The /etc/exports file contains a list of directories to be exported.
mount should be run from root.
Network File System (NFS) was developed by Sun Microsystems in 1984 and is based on the Open Network Computing Remote Procedure Call (ONC RPC) system.
NFS runs on most UNIX and UNIX-like systems (including Solaris, AIX, Free BSD, HP-UX, Linux, and Mac OS X), as well as classic Macintosh, Microsoft WIndows, Novell NetWare, and IBM AS/400.
Alternative remote file access protocols include Server Message Block (SMB, also called CIFS), Apple Filing Protocol (AFS), NetWare Core Protocol (NCP), and OS/400 File Server file system (QFileSvr.400).
Coding example: I am making heavily documented and explained open source code for a method to play music for free — almost any song, no subscription fees, no download costs, no advertisements, all completely legal. This is done by building a front-end to YouTube (which checks the copyright permissions for you).
View music player in action: www.musicinpublic.com/.
Create your own copy from the original source code/ (presented for learning programming).
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†UNIX used as a generic term unless specifically used as a trademark (such as in the phrase “UNIX certified”). UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Ltd.
Names and logos of various OSs are trademarks of their respective owners.
Copyright © 2012, 2014 Milo
Created: July 9, 2012
Last Updated: January 8, 2014
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