The state of the classic NFS filesystem
Whither NFS

The NFS network filesystem has served Unix and Linux networks for many years, but the demise of NFS inventor Sun Microsystems as an independent company has thrust NFS into a creative crisis. Will this veteran from the early days of Unix find the strength to rise again?
Ever since Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems, the development of the once-omnipresent Unix network filesystem NFS has slowed considerably. Competitors such as Samba, and a new class of distributed network storage solutions, are competing with NFS for mindshare and market share within the open source community. Has NFS gone away? Not really, but it could surely use a burst of energy to regain some of the momentum it has lost to competitors.
NFS development is now the responsibility of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The current NFS version is number 4.1, which is described in RFC 5661 [1]. (RFC 5661 dates back to 2010, which gives an indication of the current level of development activity.)
The current Linux implementations [2] consist of several parts. The NFS server, the NFS filesystem, and the Sun remote procedure call (RPC) are part of the Linux kernel. Today, admins will only want to deal with NFSv4. The NFSv3 architecture from the Unix heyday is not fit for today's security landscape (Figure 1); for instance, NFSv3 handles authentication client-side, blindly trusting in its security.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
First Release Candidate for Linux Kernel 6.14 Now Available
Linus Torvalds has officially released the first release candidate for kernel 6.14 and it includes over 500,000 lines of modified code, making for a small release.
-
System76 Refreshes Meerkat Mini PC
If you're looking for a small form factor PC powered by Linux, System76 has exactly what you need in the Meerkat mini PC.
-
Gnome 48 Alpha Ready for Testing
The latest Gnome desktop alpha is now available with plenty of new features and improvements.
-
Wine 10 Includes Plenty to Excite Users
With its latest release, Wine has the usual crop of bug fixes and improvements, along with some exciting new features.
-
Linux Kernel 6.13 Offers Improvements for AMD/Apple Users
The latest Linux kernel is now available, and it includes plenty of improvements, especially for those who use AMD or Apple-based systems.
-
Gnome 48 Debuts New Audio Player
To date, the audio player found within the Gnome desktop has been meh at best, but with the upcoming release that all changes.
-
Plasma 6.3 Ready for Public Beta Testing
Plasma 6.3 will ship with KDE Gear 24.12.1 and KDE Frameworks 6.10, along with some new and exciting features.
-
Budgie 10.10 Scheduled for Q1 2025 with a Surprising Desktop Update
If Budgie is your desktop environment of choice, 2025 is going to be a great year for you.
-
Firefox 134 Offers Improvements for Linux Version
Fans of Linux and Firefox rejoice, as there's a new version available that includes some handy updates.
-
Serpent OS Arrives with a New Alpha Release
After months of silence, Ikey Doherty has released a new alpha for his Serpent OS.