NFS from Windows Server 2008 R2

Question

I have a Windows [Web] Server 2008 R2 from which I need to mount an NFS share on a Linux machine. The Windows help refers to "Services for Network File System (NFS)" under Administrative Tools, which I was unable to find. I've also tried looking for the NFS client under "Add Features" in server management, but no luck there either.

So, how does one go about mounting NFS shares from W2k8 R2, if at all possible? I would prefer not to use any 3rd party tools or drivers. Thanks.

Solution 1

Hi I believe this should cover everything for you:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753302%28WS.10%29.aspx

This requires Standard Edition, and web edition will not have this option.

I'd recommend just mounting a cifs share via fstab

//serverfqdn/sharename$/ /path/to/mount cifs uid=[uid],username=[fileshareuser],password=[filesharepass],wsize=32768,rsize=32768 0 0

To install Services for NFS components

1.

  Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Server Manager.

2.

  In the left pane, click Roles.

3.

  Under Roles Summary in the right pane, click Add Roles. The Add Roles Wizard appears. Click Next.

4.

  Select the File Services check box to install this role on the server, and then click Next.

5.

  Select the Services for Network File System check box, and then click Next.

6.

  Confirm your selection, and then click Install.

7.

  When the installation completes, the installation results appear. Click Close.

Solution 2

Services for Network File System (NFS) isn't available in Web Edition.
I'm not sure if it's even in the Standard Edition.

Comments

[Martin Törnwall]

Thanks for the reply. I saw it, but as I pointed out I'm unable to find the "Services for Network File System" under Administrative Tools. Maybe I'm missing something quite fundamental here?

[Martin Törnwall]

Unfortunately the only roles available to me are "DNS Server" and "Web Server (IIS)" -- how can I access more roles?

[pablo]

which version of windows server are you using? It sounds like you are using web edition?

[Martin Törnwall]

Yes, that's correct -- I'm using Web edition.

[pablo]

Contradictory information on line but the fact remains the NFS option for web edition simply isnt there.

[Martin Törnwall]

That's what I figured -- thanks. Are you aware of any other options that are reliable enough to run in a production environment?

[Martin Törnwall]

Yeah, Microsoft did a very poor job of documenting this fact.

[Philip]

I'd go with what Pablo suggested, mount a Samba share; that or FTP (ftp sites can be mapped to network drives). Neither is a wonderful solution, but work.

[pablo]

worth a point up i hope :)