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NFS ManagerTasks: Permanent Connection to an NFS Server

The typical usage of NFS is to store all configuration data about server connections permanently on the system. Mac OS X will then automatically establish connections to each of the shares when you open their respective mount points. Perform the following steps to create such an automount entry:

  1. Ensure that the configuration window of the computer which should make the connection is currently active. In the left side overview column, select Automounts from /Local/Default at NFS Client. The right hand side will display the data of the selected directory node.
  2. If the lock is in closed state: Click on the lock icon to authenticate to the directory node /Local/Default and enter the credentials of an administrator. Note that you don't log in to Mac OS X but to the directory node of your Mac OS X system. This node only accepts logins via the short names of the respective accounts.
  3. Select the menu item Configuration > Add New Automount. Alternatively you can click the icon New Automount in the toolbar or press the button + below the table of automounts.
  4. Overwrite the contents of the field NFS Server with the DNS name or the IPv4 address of the server to which an automatic connection should be made.
  5. Enter the desired path of the NFS share into the field Share Path. If you don't know the name, you can also display a list of all shares of the selected server after pressing the button Select….
  6. Choose if Mac OS X should handle the Mount Point where the files will become visible automatically, or whether you like to define a fixed folder which will be used for that purpose. In the latter case you'll have to enter either the absolute BSD path of this folder, or —in case the folder exists already— you'll have to navigate to this folder via the button Select….
  7. Use the checkmarks at Options to specify desired settings for the mount. A large number of additional settings is available via the button Show advanced options.
  8. Press Apply to save this automount entry.

When you open the folder at the mount point with the Finder or another application, Mac OS X will automatically attempt to establish the server connection with the settings you have specified. You can also use NFS Manager to trigger the mount, selecting the automount entry in the table and pressing the button Trigger selected mount now.

Further information: Creating Automatically Mounted NFS Connections