In this post, I will outline the process of creating a simple NFS share server on a CentOS 8 machine.

Installing NFS

First, on the server side, we need to install the nfs-utils package:

[root@nfs-server ~]# yum install nfs-utils

Then, start and enable the nfs-server service:

[root@nfs-server ~]# systemctl start nfs-server
[root@nfs-server ~]# ^start^enable
systemctl enable nfs-server
Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/nfs-server.service → /usr/lib/systemd/system/nfs-server.service.
[root@nfs-server ~]#

Preparing the Share Directory

Create the directory that will be shared via NFS, and set nobody as the owner. Also, enable the SELinux boolean nfs_export_all_rw:

mkdir /opt/myshare
[root@nfs-server opt]# chown nobody /opt/myshare
[root@nfs-server opt]# setsebool -P nfs_export_all_rw 1

Exporting the Directory

Define the directory and allowed subnets in /etc/exports. Here, we also specify some options for exporting:

[root@nfs-server ~]# vim /etc/exports

Add the following line:

/opt/myshare   192.168.11.0/24(rw,sync)

More options can be found in man exports. Some common options include:

  • rw: Read/Write permission
  • sync: Synchronize changes
  • all_squash: Map all UIDs and GIDs from clients to anonymous user
  • no_all_squash: Map all UIDs and GIDs from client requests to identical UIDs and GIDs on the NFS server
  • root_squash: Map requests from uid/gid 0 to anonymous uid/gid

Applying the Export Configuration

Export the directories defined in /etc/exports:

[root@nfs-server ~]# exportfs -arv
exporting 192.168.11.0/24:/opt/myshare

Here, -a exports all directories, -r re-exports directories, and -v enables verbose mode.

Verifying the Export

To check the exported list, use the -s flag:

[root@nfs-server ~]# exportfs -s
/opt/myshare  192.168.11.0/24(sync,wdelay,hide,no_subtree_check,sec=sys,rw,secure,root_squash,no_all_squash)
[root@nfs-server ~]#

Configuring the Firewall

Enable necessary NFS services in firewalld:

[root@nfs-server ~]# firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=nfs
success
[root@nfs-server ~]# 
[root@nfs-server ~]# 
[root@nfs-server ~]# firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=mountd
success
[root@nfs-server ~]# firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=rpc-bind
success
[root@nfs-server ~]# 
[root@nfs-server ~]# 
[root@nfs-server ~]# firewall-cmd --reload
success
[root@nfs-server ~]#

Mounting the Share on the Client

On the client machine, create a directory for the NFS mount and add the mount details in /etc/fstab:

[root@workstation ~]# mkdir /opt/nfs-share
[root@workstation ~]# vim /etc/fstab

Add this line to:

......
192.168.11.61:/opt/myshare /opt/nfs-share nfs defaults 0 0

Then, mount the share:

mount -a

Verifying the Mount

Check if the share is successfully mounted:

[root@workstation ~]# df -h
.......
192.168.11.61:/opt/myshare                45G  3.4G   42G   8% /opt/nfs-share

9. Manual Mounting

Alternatively, you can manually mount the share without adding an entry in /etc/fstab:

mount -t nfs  192.168.11.61:/opt/myshare /opt/nfs-share

Checking Available Shares

To see available shares on the remote server, use showmount:

[root@workstation ~]# showmount -e 192.168.11.61 ##This is a remote nfs server
Export list for 192.168.11.61:
/opt/myshare 192.168.11.0/24
[root@workstation ~]#

Setting up an NFS share on CentOS is a straightforward process. This setup allows for flexible sharing of files and directories across different systems in a network.

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