How to Mount Network Shares (NFS/SMB) on FreeBSD Operating System

How to Mount Network Shares (NFS/SMB) on FreeBSD Operating System
by İbrahim Korucuoğlu ( @siberoloji) |
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  7 minute read  

Network file systems allow users to access and share files across different computers on a network. FreeBSD supports various network filesystem protocols, with NFS (Network File System) and SMB/CIFS (Server Message Block/Common Internet File System) being the most common. This guide provides detailed instructions for configuring, mounting, and troubleshooting both NFS and SMB shares on FreeBSD systems.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to Network Shares

Network shares allow files and directories to be accessed over a network as if they were local. FreeBSD provides excellent support for both NFS (commonly used in Unix/Linux environments) and SMB (primarily used for Windows networking but also supported by many operating systems).

  • NFS (Network File System): Developed by Sun Microsystems, NFS is the standard network filesystem for Unix-like systems. It’s optimized for Unix permissions and file attributes.

  • SMB/CIFS (Server Message Block/Common Internet File System): Originally developed by Microsoft, SMB is widely used in Windows environments but has become a cross-platform standard. FreeBSD uses the Samba implementation to interact with SMB shares.

2. Prerequisites

Before setting up network mounts, ensure:

  • FreeBSD 13.0 or later (earlier versions follow similar procedures but may have slight differences)
  • Root access or sufficient privileges to mount filesystems
  • Network connectivity to the file servers
  • Required server information (IP address/hostname, share names, authentication details)
  • Properly configured firewall rules (if applicable)

3. Working with NFS Shares

Setting Up NFS Client

FreeBSD includes NFS client functionality in the base system, so no additional software installation is required. However, you need to enable the required services:

  1. Edit /etc/rc.conf to enable necessary services:
# Enable NFS client services
nfs_client_enable="YES"
rpc_lockd_enable="YES"
rpc_statd_enable="YES"
  1. Start the required services:
# service nfsclient start
# service lockd start
# service statd start

Alternatively, instead of starting services individually, you can restart the nfsclient service which will start all related services:

# service nfsclient restart

Mounting NFS Shares

FreeBSD offers several methods for mounting NFS shares:

Manual Mounting

To manually mount an NFS share, use the mount_nfs command:

# mount_nfs server:/shared/directory /local/mount/point

For example, to mount a directory called “data” from a server with IP 192.168.1.100 to /mnt/nfs-data:

# mkdir -p /mnt/nfs-data
# mount_nfs 192.168.1.100:/data /mnt/nfs-data

Using Standard Mount Command

You can also use the standard mount command with the -t nfs option:

# mount -t nfs server:/shared/directory /local/mount/point

Automounting NFS Shares

For persistent mounts that survive reboots, add entries to /etc/fstab:

server:/shared/directory /local/mount/point nfs rw,intr,late 0 0

For example:

192.168.1.100:/data /mnt/nfs-data nfs rw,intr,noatime 0 0

The 0 0 at the end means the filesystem won’t be automatically backed up or checked by fsck.

NFS Client Configuration Options

Common NFS mount options for FreeBSD include:

  • rw: Mount the filesystem read-write (default)
  • ro: Mount read-only
  • intr: Allow operations to be interrupted if the server doesn’t respond
  • soft: Return an error if the server doesn’t respond within timeout period
  • hard: Retry requests indefinitely (default)
  • noatime: Don’t update access times on files
  • nosuid: Disable setuid/setgid bits
  • nfsv4: Use NFSv4 protocol explicitly
  • minorversion=1: Use NFSv4.1 (when using nfsv4)

For a more complete list, refer to the mount_nfs(8) manual page:

# man mount_nfs

4. Working with SMB/CIFS Shares

Setting Up SMB Client

To access SMB/CIFS shares, FreeBSD requires additional software. Install the necessary packages:

# pkg install samba413

The version number may vary depending on your FreeBSD release and available packages. The Samba package includes the required tools for SMB client access.

Mounting SMB Shares

Manual Mounting

To manually mount an SMB share, use the mount_smbfs command:

# mount_smbfs -I server_ip -U username //server/share /local/mount/point

For example, to mount a share called “public” from a server with IP 192.168.1.200 to /mnt/smb-public:

# mkdir -p /mnt/smb-public
# mount_smbfs -I 192.168.1.200 -U john //SERVER/public /mnt/smb-public

You’ll be prompted for the password for the specified user.

To mount with a specific workgroup:

# mount_smbfs -I 192.168.1.200 -U WORKGROUP/john //SERVER/public /mnt/smb-public

To specify a password in the command (useful for scripts, though less secure):

# mount_smbfs -I 192.168.1.200 -U john%password //SERVER/public /mnt/smb-public

Automounting SMB Shares

For persistent SMB mounts, add entries to /etc/fstab:

//username@server/share /local/mount/point smbfs rw,-I=server_ip,-N 0 0

When using /etc/fstab for SMB shares, store credentials in /etc/nsmb.conf to avoid storing passwords in plain text. Create or edit this file:

[SERVER:USERNAME]
password=your_password

Make sure this file is readable only by root:

# chmod 600 /etc/nsmb.conf

Then in /etc/fstab, reference the server and username:

//USERNAME@SERVER/share /mnt/smb-share smbfs rw 0 0

SMB Client Configuration Options

Common SMB mount options for FreeBSD include:

  • -I server_ip: Specifies the server IP address
  • -U username: Specifies the username for authentication
  • -W workgroup: Specifies the workgroup or domain
  • -N: Don’t prompt for a password (anonymous or use credentials from nsmb.conf)
  • -f mode: Sets the file permission mode (octal)
  • -d mode: Sets the directory permission mode (octal)
  • -c: Uses case-sensitive filename lookups
  • -u uid: Sets the user ID for mounted files
  • -g gid: Sets the group ID for mounted files

For a more complete list, refer to the mount_smbfs(8) manual page:

# man mount_smbfs

5. Security Considerations

When working with network shares, consider the following security practices:

For NFS Shares

  • Use NFSv4 with Kerberos when possible for enhanced security
  • Use read-only mounts when write access isn’t required
  • Implement the nosuid and noexec options for untrusted shares
  • Consider using IPsec for transport security on sensitive networks
  • Configure proper firewall rules to restrict NFS traffic

For SMB Shares

  • Always use SMB3 protocol when possible (more secure than SMB1/2)
  • Use strong passwords and consider Kerberos authentication
  • Store credentials in /etc/nsmb.conf with restricted permissions (600)
  • Mount with minimal required permissions
  • Avoid using plaintext passwords in command lines or scripts

6. Troubleshooting

Common NFS Issues

  1. Connection Refused:

    • Check if the NFS server is running
    • Verify firewall rules allow NFS traffic (ports 111, 2049, and others)
    • Test connectivity with rpcinfo -p server_ip

  2. Stale File Handles:

    • Usually occurs when a file was deleted or moved on the server
    • Unmount and remount the share

  3. Permission Denied:

    • Check export permissions on the NFS server
    • Verify user/group mapping between client and server
    • Check file permissions on the shared directory

  4. Mount Hangs:

    • Use the intr option to allow interrupting operations
    • Try the soft option instead of the default hard option
    • Test with showmount -e server_ip to list available exports

Common SMB Issues

  1. Authentication Failures:

    • Verify username and password
    • Check workgroup/domain settings
    • Ensure the user has access permissions to the share

  2. Protocol Negotiation Failures:

    • Specify the correct SMB version with the -L option
    • Update Samba to a version compatible with the server

  3. Permission Problems:

    • Check the uid/gid mapping
    • Use -f and -d options to set appropriate permissions

  4. Character Set/Encoding Issues:

    • Use the -E option to specify character set encoding

Useful Diagnostic Commands

For NFS:

# showmount -e server_ip
# rpcinfo -p server_ip
# tcpdump -i interface port 2049

For SMB:

# smbutil view -I server_ip //server
# smbutil lookup server
# nmblookup -S server

7. Performance Tuning

NFS Performance Tips

  • Use the rsize and wsize options to optimize transfer sizes
  • Enable the noatime option to reduce unnecessary writes
  • Consider using async for better performance (with risk of data loss on crashes)
  • Use tcp transport for more reliable connections over unstable networks
  • Increase socket buffer sizes with rwsize and rwsize options

Example of a performance-optimized NFS mount:

# mount_nfs -o rsize=32768,wsize=32768,noatime,intr server:/share /mnt/nfs

SMB Performance Tips

  • Use SMB3 protocol when possible
  • Adjust the -r and -w options for read/write buffer sizes
  • Consider disabling oplocks if not needed
  • Use -T option to disable directory timestamps where appropriate

8. Conclusion

FreeBSD provides robust support for both NFS and SMB network file systems, offering flexibility for integration with various network environments. When properly configured, network shares can function nearly as seamlessly as local storage, while providing the benefits of centralized storage and file sharing.

For production environments, always consider security implications and proper configuration for your specific use case. Regular testing and monitoring of network mounts are recommended to ensure continued availability and performance.

For further information, consult the FreeBSD Handbook and the manual pages for mount_nfs(8) and mount_smbfs(8).


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