How to Install and Configure NFS on CentOS and Access It from Linux and Windows

1. NFS Principles

NFS (Network File System) enables data sharing across different operating systems using the RPC protocol in a client/server model, typically on port 2049. RHEL7 defaults to NFSv4.

# cat /etc/redhat-release
CentOS Linux release 7.7.1908 (Core)

# grep nfs /etc/services
nfs 2049/tcp nfsd shilp # Network File System
nfs 2049/udp nfsd shilp # Network File System
nfs 2049/sctp nfsd shilp # Network File System

2. Install NFS Server

The NFS server requires two packages: nfs-utils (provides NFS commands and monitoring) and rpcbind (supports secure NFS RPC connections).

# yum -y install nfs-utils

# rpm -qa | grep nfs && rpm -qa | grep rpcbind
libnfsidmap-0.25-19.el7.x86_64
nfs-utils-1.3.0-0.65.el7.x86_64
rpcbind-0.2.0-48.el7.x86_64

3. Configure NFS Server

Create a shared directory and set permissions:

# mkdir -p /tmp/share
# chmod o+rwx /tmp/share
# ll -d /tmp/share
drwxrwxrwx 2 root root 6 Mar 16:38 /tmp/share

Edit /etc/exports to define which clients can access the share and with what options:

/tmp/share 192.168.1.0/24(rw,sync,all_squash) # all_squash maps all users to nfsnobody

Start the services and export the configuration:

# systemctl start rpcbind
# systemctl start nfs
# exportfs -rv
exporting 192.168.1.0/24:/tmp/share

Verify the export list:

# showmount -e localhost
Export list for localhost:
/tmp/share 192.168.1.0/24

4. Linux Client Access

Install the client utilities, create a mount point, and mount the NFS share:

# yum -y install nfs-utils
# mkdir /shares
# showmount -e 192.168.1.251
Export list for 192.168.1.251:
/tmp/share 192.168.1.0/24
# mount -t nfs 192.168.1.251:/tmp/share /shares
# df -h
Filesystem               Size  Used  Avail Use% Mounted on
192.168.1.251:/tmp/share 37G   1.6G   36G   5% /shares

Use the shared directory:

# cd /shares/
# touch 123.txt
# mkdir dir
# ls
123.txt  dir

Unmount when finished:

# umount /shares

5. Windows Client Access

Enable the NFS client feature in Windows (e.g., Windows 7) via Control Panel → Programs → Turn Windows features on or off, checking "NFS Client" and related tools.

After installation, mount the NFS share using the command prompt: mount \\192.168.1.251\tmp\test Z: Verify the mapped drive in Windows Explorer. For persistent mapping, create a batch script (e.g., nfs.bat) with the following content and place it in the startup folder:

# nfs.bat content
@echo off
start "C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe"
net use Z: \\192.168.1.251\tmp\test
taskkill /f /im cmd.exe
exit

Running this script at startup automatically maps the NFS share to drive Z: after each reboot.