9.4. NFS Client Configuration Files

NFS shares are mounted on the client side using the mount command. The format of the command is as follows: 
 mount -t <nfs-type> -o <options> <host>:</remote/export> </local/directory>
Replace <nfs-type> with either nfs for NFSv2 or NFSv3 servers, or nfs4 for NFSv4 servers. Replace <options> with a comma separated list of options for the NFS file system (refer to Section 9.4.3, “Common NFS Mount Options” for details). Replace <host> with the remote host, </remote/export> with the remote directory being mounted, and </local/directory> with the local directory where the remote file system is to be mounted.
Refer to the mount man page for more details.
If accessing an NFS share by manually issuing the mount command, the file system must be remounted manually after the system is rebooted. Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers two methods for mounting remote file systems automatically at boot time: the /etc/fstab file or the autofs service.

9.4.1. /etc/fstab

The /etc/fstab file is referenced by the netfs service at boot time, so lines referencing NFS shares have the same effect as manually typing the mount command during the boot process.
A sample /etc/fstab line to mount an NFS export looks like the following example: 
<server>:</remote/export> </local/directory> <nfs-type> <options> 0 0
Replace <server> with the hostname, IP address, or fully qualified domain name of the server exporting the file system.
Replace </remote/export> with the path to the exported directory.
Replace </local/directory> with the local file system on which the exported directory is mounted. This mount point must exist before /etc/fstab is read or the mount fails.
Replace <nfs-type> with either nfs for NFSv2 or NFSv3 servers, or nfs4 for NFSv4 servers.
Replace <options> with a comma separated list of options for the NFS file system (refer to Section 9.4.3, “Common NFS Mount Options” for details). Refer to the fstab man page for additional information.