In this project, I used two AWS instances (one as NFS server and one as
client) to configure file sharing using NFS on RHEL 9. I created a shared
directory on the server, set proper permissions, and mounted it on the
client system for seamless remote access.
Aws Cloud Instance Private IP Public IP Configured For
NFS-Server 172.31.95.180 34.201.59.134 NFS Server Setup
Client Server 172.31.84.57 100.24.34.169 NFS Client Configuration
Setup of NFS Server
Step 1: Install the Packages using yum
Package name: nfs-utils
Command: yum install nfs-utils
Step 2: Verify that the packages were installed correctly
Command: rpm -q nfs-utils
Step 3: Start and enable the NFS Server
Service name: nfs-server
Command: systemctl enable --now nfs-server
Step 4: Check the status of NFS server
Command: systemctl status nfs-server
Step 5: Make a directory named /nfs-share
Command: mkdir /nfs-share
We will keep all the files in this folder that we want to share with
the client over the network.
Step 6: Configure NFS Server
Edit the /etc/exports file.
In this file, we define the folder we want to share along with the
client details, so the server knows which folder to share with which
client.
Open the /etc/exports configuration file using vim
Command: vim /etc/exports
Add the following entries in this file.
Explanation:
/nfs-share – folder path we want to share
100.24.34.169 – client IP that can access it
rw – Client can read and write
sync – Saves changes immediately
no_root_squash – Allows client root user to act as root
Step 7: Apply the Export configuration
Command: exportfs -arv
Step 8: Restart NFS Service to apply changes
Command: systemctl restart nfs-server
Step 9: Configure SELinux for NFS
By default, SELinux blocks NFS shares. So, we need to set the
correct SELinux context on the shared folder.
Command: semanage fcontext -a -t nfs_t /nfs-share
Relabel the folder so SELinux accepts the change
Command: restorecon -Rv /nfs-share
Step 10: Allow Port 2049 in security group of NFS Server
To allow NFS traffic, we need to open port 2049 in the security
group of the NFS server instance (in AWS).
Setup of NFS Client
Step 1: Install the Packages using yum
Package name: nfs-utils
Command: yum install nfs-utils
Step 2: Create Mount Point
We need a folder where we will mount the shared NFS directory.
Command: mkdir /mnt/share-data
Step 3: Mount the Directory
Now we will mount the shared folder from the NFS server to the
client system.
Syntax: mount -t nfs <NFS_Server_IP>:/nfs-share /mnt/share-data
Command: mount -t nfs 34.201.59.134:/nfs-share /mnt/share-data
Step 4: Verify the Mount
Command: df -h | grep nfs
Step 5: Make the Mount Permanent
Open /etc/fstab file using vim.
Command: vim /etc/fstab
Add the following entry in /etc/fstab file.
<NFS_Server_IP>:/nfs-share /mnt/share-data nfs defaults 0 0
Apply mounting point
Command: mount -a
Step 6: Test the NFS Share
Now we will test if the NFS sharing is working properly or not.
Go to the NFS server and create a test file inside the /nfs-share
directory:
Now go to the NFS client and check if the same file is visible in the
mounted folder.
Now you can see the same files on the client, which means the NFS
setup is working perfectly.
Conclusion
NFS is a simple and reliable way to share files between systems on
the same network.
It helps in easy and fast access to shared data without using any
third-party tools.
If you're learning Linux or DevOps, setting up NFS is a great hands-on
practice.
It improves your understanding of system administration and real-
time file sharing in Linux environments.
