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Can you explain the /net -hosts entry in the auto_master file?

April 26, 2017explain file NET

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Can you explain the /net -hosts entry in the auto_master file?

1 Answer

0

10 Posted

The -hosts map is a special case of an indirect map, that provides for the dynamic mounting of a host upon reference. It is usually referenced as “/net -hosts” or “/nfs -hosts”. If you start the automounter with /net -hosts, the automounter will do the following for you: When you reference a pathname, e.g. ls -l /net/hostname, and the hostname is an NFS server, the automounter will do an NFS mount of all exported filesystems on that NFS server for you, place the physical mount into /tmp_mnt/hostname, and let you access that NFS server thru a symlink, /net/hostname -> /tmp_mnt/net/hostname. You access the NFS files thru the /net/hostname symlink and do not need to worry about managing NFS mounts.