NFS mount with fstab vs autofs

autofsnfs

What method is best to use for mounting a NFS share
from another machine? Mount using /etc/fstab entry or Mount using autofs?
what is the difference between them?

Best Answer

Autofs , is auto mounting filesystem on demand like when ever you need it.

NFS is like mounting a complete partition remotely and you will have availability of whole content of the partition.

But there are few advantages with autofs over nfs

Advantages of AutoFS

1 Shares are accessed automatically and transparently when a user tries to access any files or directories under the designated mount point of the remote filesystem to be mounted.

2 Booting time is significantly reduced because no mounting is done at boot time.

3 Network access and efficiency are improved by reducing the number of permanently active mount points.

4 Failed mount requests can be reduced by designating alternate servers as the source of a filesystem.

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