Network Filesystems

30 minutes
  • 2 Learning Objectives

About this Hands-on Lab

Implementing network fileshares, Linux servers, and clients is a key skill for any experienced system administrator. In this activity, we will be working to set up both a Linux Samba fileshare and an NFS fileshare that can then be used by a remote client to store files on. Once you complete this activity, you will understand how to configure network filesystems.

*This course is not approved or sponsored by Red Hat.*

Learning Objectives

Successfully complete this lab by achieving the following learning objectives:

Set Up a Samba Share
  1. Install the Samba packages:

    yum install samba -y
  2. Edit /etc/samba/smb.conf and add the following section at the bottom:

    [share]
            browsable = yes
            path = /smb
            writable = yes

    Save and exit.

  3. Create a user to share the mount point:

    useradd shareuser
    smbpasswd -a shareuser
  4. Create the directory we’re sharing out:

    mkdir /smb
  5. Start the smb service:

    systemctl start smb
  6. Make sure the client can write to the directory:

    chmod 777 /smb
  7. On the client, run:

    mkdir /mnt/smb
  8. On the client, install the CIFS utilities:

    yum install cifs-utils -y
  9. On the client, run:

    mount -t cifs //<IP_OF_SERVER>/share /mnt/smb -o username=shareuser,password=<PASSWORD_SET_WITH_SMBPASSWD>
Set Up the NFS Share
  1. Install the required package:

    yum install nfs-utils -y
  2. Create the mount point that will be served out:

    mkdir /nfs
  3. Edit /etc/exports, adding the following line:

    /nfs *(rw)

    Save and exit the file.

  4. Make sure it’s writable:

    chmod 777 /nfs
  5. Export the directory we’ve configured in /etc/exports:

    exportfs -a
  6. Start the required services:

    systemctl start {rpcbind,nfs-server,rpc-statd,nfs-idmapd}
  7. On the client, install the required package:

    yum install nfs-utils -y
  8. Create the mount point:

    mkdir /mnt/nfs
  9. Check to see what’s being shared out on the NFS server:

    showmount -e <NFS_SERVER_IP>
  10. Start the required service:

    systemctl start rpcbind
  11. Mount it:

    mount -t nfs <NFS_SERVER_IP>:/nfs /mnt/nfs

Additional Resources

We need to set two servers up so that they can share files over both NFS and SMB.

The shares need to be writable on both ends, and we can't use no_root_squash on the NFS server.

What are Hands-on Labs

Hands-on Labs are real environments created by industry experts to help you learn. These environments help you gain knowledge and experience, practice without compromising your system, test without risk, destroy without fear, and let you learn from your mistakes. Hands-on Labs: practice your skills before delivering in the real world.

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