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The version of NFS used can be specified at mount time by the client via the use of mount options. NFSv4 is currently at minor revision 2 (NFSv4.2). NFSv4 introduces the concept of the pseudo-file system, which allows NFSv4 clients to see and access the file systems exported on the NFSv4 server as a single file system. (The portmap service is no longer necessary.) It includes support for file access control list (ACL) attributes and can support both version 2 and version 3 clients. The services of the RPC binding protocols (such as rpc.mountd, rpc.lockd, and rpc.statd) are no longer required in this version of NFS because their functionality has been built into the server in other words, NFSv4 combines these previously disparate NFS protocols into a single protocol specification. It was designed with the Internet in mind, and as a result, this version of the protocol is firewall-friendly and listens on the well-known port 2049.
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It has improved security features thanks to its support for Kerberos for example, client authentication can be conducted on a per-user basis or on a principal basis. NFSv4 – This version of the protocol uses a stateful protocol such as TCP or Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) as its transport. Mount requests are also granted on a per-host basis and not on a per-user basis.ģ. Depending on the local file system limits of the NFS server itself, clients can access files larger than 2GB in size. It has more features than version 2, has performance gains over version 2, and can use either TCP or UDP as its transport protocol. NFSv3 – This version includes a lot of fixes for the bugs in NFSv2. Version 2 clients have a file size limitation of less than 2GB that they can access.Ģ. This version uses Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) or User Datagram Protocol (UDP) as its transport protocol. NFSv2 – Mount requests are granted on a per-host basis and not on a per-user basis. Here are some of the features of each NFS version:ġ. At the time of this writing, three well-known versions of the protocol exist: NFS version 2 (NFSv2), NFS version 3 (NFSv3), and NFS version 4 (NFSv4). Standards committees have helped NFS evolve to take advantage of new technologies, as well as changes in usage patterns.
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The protocol behind NFS has evolved and changed a lot over the years. NFS is somewhat similar to Microsoft Windows File Sharing, in that it allows you to attach to a remote file system (or disk) and work with it as if it were a local drive-a handy tool for sharing files and large storage space among users. Network File System (NFS) is one of the native ways of sharing files and applications across the network in the Linux/UNIX world.
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