Install and Configure NFS (Network File System) on Debian 8

Understanding and Functions of NFS (Network File System)

NFS (Network File System) is a distributed file sharing protocol that allows a user or a computer client to access a file or folder on the computer server through network media.

NFS generally runs using the protocol Remote Procedure Call (RPC) which runs on top of UDP and opens port UDP number 2049 to communicate between client and server.

NFS client will import the file system automatically remote from the NFS server, while the NFS server will export the local file system to client so that users who access files on the computer server like accessing a file on its own local storage.

Besides NFS, maybe you are also familiar with the system file sharing others such as SAMBA or FTP Server. But it’s different from SAMBA which can do it file sharing with the Windows operating system, NFS is specifically for being able to share files with computers that use Unix systems, such as Linux.

Install Network File System (NFS) on Debian 8

In addition to the main NFS package, NFS also requires other packages for NFS to run. Because NFS runs using the protocol Remote Procedure Call (RPC), then NFS requires portmap to run.

Before starting to install the required packages and start configuring NFS, make sure you have added the repository on your Debian if you install via repository.

Or if you install these packages manually offline using a DVD, make sure you’ve added the DVD binaries needed for NFS on Debian. As of Debian 8.6, the required packages for NFS are located on DVD binary 1.

If so, then install the required packages using the following command:

# apt-get install nfs-kernel-server portmap nfs-common

Then press enter, if out output which asks if you are sure you want to install the package. Wait for the installation process to complete.

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