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Steps to Build an NFS Server

1. Install NFS Server on Linux (VM or Kubernetes Node)

If you're using a VM or any Linux-based system as the NFS server, you first need to install the NFS server package.

For Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y nfs-kernel-server

2. Create a Directory to Share

Create a directory that will be shared over NFS. For example:

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/data
sudo chmod 777 /mnt/data
sudo chown nobody:nogroup /mnt/data

3. Configure NFS Exports

You'll need to configure the NFS exports to specify which directories you want to share and with which permissions.

Edit the NFS exports file:

sudo nano /etc/exports

Add the following line to the file, allowing any IP to access the directory (replace * with specific IP ranges for security):

/mnt/data *(rw,sync,no_subtree_check)
  • rw: Allows read-write access.
  • sync: Ensures data is written to disk before returning a response.
  • no_subtree_check: Prevents checking the file system for each request (to improve performance).

4. Export the Shared Directory

After editing the /etc/exports file, export the shared directories with the following command:

sudo exportfs -a

To confirm that the export was successful, run:

sudo exportfs -v

5. Start NFS Server

Start and enable the NFS server to run on boot:

For Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo systemctl enable nfs-kernel-server
sudo systemctl start nfs-kernel-server

6. Check if the NFS Server Service is Running

Log in to the NFS server and verify that the required services are active.

For most systems:

sudo systemctl status nfs-server

Test Port Accessibility

Ensure that the required NFS ports are open on the NFS server and accessible from the client.

Check the NFS Ports:

sudo rpcinfo -p

Look for services like nfs, mountd, and portmapper in the output.

Example:

   program vers proto   port  service
    100000    4   tcp    111  portmapper
    100005    1   udp  20048  mountd
    100003    3   tcp   2049  nfs

7. Open Ports in Firewall (if applicable)

If you're using a firewall, open the necessary ports to allow NFS traffic. The typical ports used for NFS are 2049 (NFS) and 111 (RPC).

For UFW (Ubuntu firewall):

sudo ufw allow from any to any port nfs

8. Test the NFS Share

From another machine (which will act as the client), test the NFS share.

Mount the NFS share to a local directory (replace nfs-server-ip with the IP of the NFS server):

sudo mount -t nfs nfs-server-ip:/mnt/data /mnt

You should now be able to read and write files to the /mnt/data directory over NFS.

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