Chapter 11: Virtual File Systems and NFS

Overview

SOLARIS 9 EXAM OBJECTIVES COVERED IN THIS CHAPTER:

• Explain when and how to add and remove swap space.

• Given a crash dump scenario, change the crash dump and core file configuration.

• Identify the appropriate commands and procedures to manage files; list, start, and stop daemons; and manage utilities on NFS servers and clients.

• Explain how to enable NFS server logging and how to configure nfslogd behavior.

• Given a problem scenario and resulting NFS error message, infer causes and select an appropriate course of action to resolve the problem.

• Explain how to configure AutoFS using automount maps.

Chapter 7, "File System Management," introduced the three classifications of file systems in Solaris: disk-based, pseudo (or virtual), and distributed. Chapter 7 also went on to explain in detail how disk-based file systems work. This chapter covers the other two types of file systems: virtual file systems and distributed (or network) file systems.

Virtual file systems are different from disk-based file systems in that most virtual file systems are created in memory, not on disk space. And while disk-based file systems are primarily used to store files, virtual file systems provide some sort of auxiliary service, such as improving the speed of system performance.

When talking about a distributed file system in Solaris, the topic of the conversation must be the Network File System (NFS). NFS enables disk-based file systems to be easily shared across a network. Although managing NFS can be complex, NFS is not too difficult to manage if you think of it as a network extension to disk-based file systems such as UFS.