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Host Requirements for Reflection NFS
Technical Note 1100
Last Reviewed 17-Jul-2005
Applies To
Reflection NFS Client version 10.0 or higher
Summary
Technical Note 1100
Last Reviewed 17-Jul-2005
Applies To
Reflection NFS Client version 10.0 or higher
Summary
This technical note describes host-side requirements for a successful connection between Reflection NFS products and a host running NFS server software. The note discusses running NFS server daemons and modifying host and export files. (Starting server daemons and modifying system files typically requires root access to the host.)
Note the following:
- The Reflection NFS Client standalone product is also included as a component of several Reflection products. For details, refer to Technical Note 3000.
- For information about which versions of Reflection NFS are supported on each Microsoft Windows platform, see Technical Note 1421.
Running NFS Server Daemons
For the Reflection NFS to connect successfully to a host running NFS server software, the host must be running certain NFS server daemons. The table below lists the necessary daemons by name and function.
| Daemon |
Function |
| nfs |
Required. Accepts NFS client requests and processes or executes them. Is involved in all the procedures used by NFS except those involving file locking, authentication, and printing. Note: Reflection NFS supports NFS versions 2 and 3. |
| mountd |
Required. Handles NFS client mount, unmount, and view mount requests. Accesses the /etc/exports file (or equivalent) to determine what file systems are available via NFS, who can access them, and what permissions are granted. |
| portmapper |
Required. Provides information to the NFS client regarding all other NFS server daemons. Provides program numbers, version numbers, protocols, temporary port numbers, and names of the remote services registered on the host. |
| pcnfsd |
Required for authentication and printing. Without it, only anonymous authentication is available. Reflection NFS requires pcnfsd version 2. For information on NFS authentication, see Technical Note 1080. For information regarding NFS printing, see Technical Note 1083. |
| nlockmgr |
Required for file locking and sharing. Not supported by all hosts. If this daemon is not present on your host, disable file locking and file sharing in the Reflection NFS client. Note: If you want your users to be able to share files, you will need this daemon to prevent file corruption. (Shared files may become corrupted when multiple users try to write to the same file simultaneously.) |
The daemons noted above must be available via User Datagram Protocol (UDP) transport. In addition, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) must also be available if you enable TCP support for Reflection NFS (available on Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows NT 4.0). Note: Windows NT is no longer supported in Reflection NFS version 13.
Enabling TCP support provides more error checking than UDP, but also uses more Windows resources. If mountd is available over TCP, Reflection NFS will use TCP for network browsing regardless of this setting.
Verifying the NFS Daemons on Your Host
To determine which daemons your host is running, launch Reflection's NFS Utility by following the steps below.
- Click Start > Program Files > Reflection > Utilities > NFS Utility. This will launch the NFS Utility program.
- On the Services menu, click Search for Server Daemons.
- In the Host box, type in your host's name or IP address. Click Retrieve Information. You should see a list of daemons. A green check mark indicates that the daemon is running, while a red X mark indicates that the daemon is not currently available on your host.
Obtaining NFS Daemons
NFS server software (with daemons) is shipped with most UNIX operating systems. However, it may not be installed by default, or you may have to purchase the NFS server software separately from the vendor or from a third party vendor.
Note: Not all versions of Sun's server software ship with pcnfsd. See Technical Note 1429 for information on obtaining pcnfsd.
Enabling NFS Server Daemons
Setting up NFS server daemons involves starting daemons for NFS Remote Procedural Call (RPC) protocol and for additional auxiliary services. The process varies depending on the host and operating system you are running. Refer to system documentation for specifics on how to enable NFS server software.
The /etc/exports File
The /etc/exports file on the host allows the system administrator to control remote access issues, such as which file systems are available to remote hosts or PCs and what access limitations a remote host or PC has within a particular file system. These restrictions supplement file and directory permissions.
For an NFS client to access NFS server file systems or printers, those file systems or printers must first be added to the server's /etc/exports file. For suggestions on syntax and available switches, refer to your host's manual pages. (For manual pages on a specific subject, from any host prompt type MAN <search term> and hit RETURN.)
Note: Hosts running Sun server software handle the exports file differently. For more information, refer to your host's manual pages, or contact Sun directly. Further information regarding Sun configuration can be found in Technical Notes 1091 and 1429.
Exporting the /etc/exports File
Under NFS, file systems that are to be available to NFS clients must be exported. Each time you modify the /etc/exports file, you must re-export it to the host. Some hosts provide administrative utilities, such as SMIT (on AIX) or SAM (on HP9000) from where you can edit and re-export the /etc/exports file. The file can also be exported manually. Exporting the /etc/exports file is similar to compiling a program. On many UNIX hosts you can export the /etc/exports file by logging in as the root and issuing the following command:
$ /etc/exportfs –aNote: To determine the proper command or procedure for your system, refer to your host's manual pages.
Verifying File Systems Information
To view which file systems have been made available, follow the steps below.
- Launch the Reflection NFS Utility as explained in the "Verifying the NFS Daemons on Your Host" section above.
- On the Services menu, click Search for Server File Systems.
- In the Host box, type in your host's name or IP address. Click Retrieve Information. You should see a list of the file systems currently available on your host.
The /etc/hosts File
Some NFS servers require that the remote machine's IP address and PC or host name be added to the server's /etc/hosts file, which lists the machines and users that are considered to be "trusted hosts." Trusted hosts are machines and users that are allowed to invoke remote commands on the server.
If your system requires trusted hosts, and you attempt to connect as a user or from a machine that is not recognized, you may see one of the following errors in the Windows Event Viewer:
- error NFS NFS authentication on Red as Joe failed with code 1311
- error NFS mount access denied
- error NFS mount access denied.....error 100d
- error NFS unable to resolve Address...100...
If a user cannot map drives or authenticate to a particular host, try adding the user's IP address and PC name to the host's /etc/hosts file. Refer to your host's manual pages for instructions.
