What is Network File System (NFS) File Share?
Network File System (NFS) is a collaboration system developed by Sun Microsystems in the early 80s that allows users to view, store, update or share files on a remote computer as though it were a local computer.
The first version of NFS was used as an internal process for Sun employees, and it wasn’t until NFS version 2 (NFSv2) was released that the public could start to benefit from its features. When NFS version 2 was released to the public, it was used extensively for file sharing, particularly with UNIX operating systems. This was followed by NFSv3, NFSv4, NFSv4.1 and NFSv4.2, with each version introducing significant improvements in performance, security and scalability. The latest versions support larger files, Kerberos-based authentication and parallel access (pNFS), making NFS more robust and efficient for enterprise-scale use.
Today, NFS is managed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and remains a critical technology for centralized data management and cross-platform file sharing. It enables users to perform standard file operations on remote data across complex, distributed IT environments.
Benefits of NFS file share
Apart from allowing local access to remote files, NFS is most notable for its host authentication, which is simple to perform and allows you to connect to another service using only an IP address.
Additional benefits of NFS file share include:
- Centralized file management for easier administration
- Seamless user access to files from any server
- Long-standing use, offering broad compatibility and familiarity with applications
- Automatic updates, with no need to manually refresh for new files
- Enhanced security options, including firewalls and Kerberos authentication
NAS overview: Other file sharing options
NFS protocol is one of several distributed file system (DFS) standards for network-attached storage (NAS). Another popular option is Server Message Block (SMB), which is sometimes referred to as Common Internet File System (CIFS).
Server Message Block (SMB)
Similar to NFS, using the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol allows a user to access files or other resources at a remote server. While there are many similarities between SMB and NFS — like the opportunity for shared access to files, printers and serial ports between nodes on a network — there are some notable differences as well.
One of the drawbacks of SMB is that Windows requires user authentication to connect to an SMB, and the user needs to be logged in. Workarounds for this can be tedious.
Common Internet File System (CIFS)
Although CIFS and SMB are often used interchangeably, CIFS is actually a dialect of SMB. After an unsuccessful solo launch and a name that couldn’t catch fire, CIFS is now considered a thing of the past, and the term SMB should be the preferred acronym moving forward.
SMB and NFS can be used in conjunction. However, if you are connecting two UNIX computers, it’s best to use a native protocol, which is NFS. Likewise, if you’re connecting two Windows computers, SMB would be the preferred NAS.
There are also other DFS standards, such as Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS), GlusterFS and Lustre, which are designed for big data and high-performance computing and provide specialized distributed storage capabilities beyond general file sharing.
The basics of getting NFS running on your network
- Simply enter the following command in your terminal window: sudo apt install nfs-kernel-server to install
- You can configure NFS by manually editing the configuration file /etc/exports or via the command line, using exportfs
- To start the NFS server, run the following command: sudo systemctl start nfs-kernel-server.service
- For NFS client configuration, mount a shared NFS directory from another machine by typing a variation of the following command in your terminal window: sudo mount example.hostname.com:/ubuntu /local/ubuntu
Protecting Network File Systems with Datto
Datto SIRIS offers a variety of backup and restore types to meet different recovery scenarios, including the backup and disaster recovery of Network File Systems. With NAS Guard, Datto SIRIS can mount and automatically copy data from other NAS devices on the local network. That data is then protected and uploaded to the secure Datto Cloud, ensuring it is continuously backed up and always available for restore. To learn more, watch the short video below or request a demo.
