Configure NFS Server and Client on Rocky Linux 10 / AlmaLinux 10

NFS (Network File System) lets Linux servers share directories over the network so other machines can mount and access them as if they were local storage. NFS is widely used for shared home directories, centralized backup targets, media servers, and any scenario where multiple hosts need access to the same files.

Original content from computingforgeeks.com - post 2162

This guide covers setting up an NFS server and client on Rocky Linux 10 or AlmaLinux 10 using NFSv4, the current default protocol version. We also cover NFSv3 configuration for legacy clients that need it.

Prerequisites

• NFS Server: Rocky Linux 10 or AlmaLinux 10 with root access
• NFS Client: any Linux distribution
• Both machines on the same network or routable to each other
• Ports 2049 (NFS), 111 (rpcbind), and 20048 (mountd) open on the server

Install NFS Server

The nfs-utils package provides both the NFS server and client tools:

sudo dnf install -y nfs-utils

Verify the installed version:

rpm -q nfs-utils

Rocky Linux 10 ships nfs-utils 2.8.x with full NFSv3 and NFSv4 support.

Configure NFS Exports

Create the directory you want to share and set appropriate permissions:

sudo mkdir -p /srv/nfs/shared
sudo chmod 755 /srv/nfs/shared

Define which networks can access this share by editing the exports file:

sudo vi /etc/exports

Add the export definition. Replace 192.168.1.0/24 with your network range:

/srv/nfs/shared 192.168.1.0/24(rw,sync,no_subtree_check,no_root_squash)

Export options explained:

• rw – read-write access (use ro for read-only)
• sync – writes are committed to disk before the server replies (safer, slight performance cost)
• no_subtree_check – disables subtree checking for better reliability
• no_root_squash – allows root on the client to act as root on the NFS share. Use root_squash (default) in untrusted environments

For multiple exports, add one line per directory:

/srv/nfs/shared     192.168.1.0/24(rw,sync,no_subtree_check)
/srv/nfs/backups    192.168.1.0/24(rw,sync,no_subtree_check,no_root_squash)
/srv/nfs/public     192.168.1.0/24(ro,sync,no_subtree_check)

Start the NFS Server

Enable and start the NFS server service:

sudo systemctl enable --now nfs-server

Apply the export configuration:

sudo exportfs -ra

Verify the exports are active:

sudo exportfs -v

The output shows each exported directory with its options and allowed networks:

/srv/nfs/shared
		192.168.1.0/24(sync,wdelay,hide,no_subtree_check,sec=sys,rw,secure,no_root_squash,no_all_squash)

Check which NFS versions are running:

rpcinfo -p localhost | grep nfs

You should see NFSv3 and NFSv4 on port 2049:

    100003    3   tcp   2049  nfs
    100003    4   tcp   2049  nfs

Configure Firewall

Open the NFS, mountd, and rpcbind services in firewalld:

sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=nfs
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=mountd
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=rpc-bind
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Verify the services are open:

sudo firewall-cmd --list-services

The output should include nfs, mountd, and rpc-bind.

Configure the NFS Client

On the client machine, install the NFS client utilities:

sudo dnf install -y nfs-utils

For Ubuntu/Debian clients, install nfs-common instead:

sudo apt install -y nfs-common

Check what the server is exporting:

showmount -e 192.168.1.100

Replace 192.168.1.100 with the NFS server’s IP. The output lists available exports.

Mount the NFS share

Create a mount point and mount the share:

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/nfs
sudo mount -t nfs4 192.168.1.100:/srv/nfs/shared /mnt/nfs

Verify the mount:

df -h /mnt/nfs

Test read/write access:

echo "NFS test from client" | sudo tee /mnt/nfs/client-test.txt
cat /mnt/nfs/client-test.txt

Persistent mount via /etc/fstab

To mount the share automatically on boot, add it to /etc/fstab:

sudo vi /etc/fstab

Add this line at the end:

192.168.1.100:/srv/nfs/shared  /mnt/nfs  nfs4  defaults,_netdev  0  0

The _netdev option tells systemd to wait for the network before attempting the mount, preventing boot failures when the NFS server is unreachable.

Test the fstab entry without rebooting:

sudo umount /mnt/nfs
sudo mount -a
df -h /mnt/nfs

SELinux Considerations

Rocky Linux 10 enables the NFS export SELinux booleans by default. Verify they are set:

getsebool nfs_export_all_rw nfs_export_all_ro

Both should show on. If sharing home directories or custom paths, the SELinux context must be correct:

sudo semanage fcontext -a -t nfs_t "/srv/nfs(/.*)?"
sudo restorecon -Rv /srv/nfs

NFS Ports Reference

Port	Protocol	Service
2049	TCP/UDP	NFS (main data transfer)
111	TCP/UDP	rpcbind (port mapper)
20048	TCP/UDP	mountd (mount protocol)

Troubleshooting

mount.nfs4: access denied by server

The client’s IP is not in the allowed network range in /etc/exports. Check the export definition and run exportfs -ra after making changes. Also verify firewalld allows the NFS service.

mount.nfs4: Connection timed out

The firewall on the server is blocking NFS traffic. Verify port 2049 is open with firewall-cmd --list-services. Also check network connectivity with ping.

Permission denied when writing files

Check three things: the directory permissions on the server (chmod), the export options (rw vs ro), and SELinux booleans (nfs_export_all_rw must be on).

Conclusion

NFS is sharing files between your Rocky Linux 10 / AlmaLinux 10 servers over the network. For production deployments, use root_squash instead of no_root_squash to limit root access from clients, restrict exports to specific IP addresses rather than entire subnets, and consider Kerberos authentication for environments that need strong user-level access control. Refer to the RHEL 10 NFS documentation for Kerberos setup and advanced export options.