Storage pool type: `nfs`

The NFS backend is based on the directory backend, so it shares most properties. The directory layout and the file naming conventions are the same. The main advantage is that you can directly configure the NFS server properties, so the backend can mount the share automatically. There is no need to modify `/etc/fstab`. The backend can also test if the server is online, and provides a method to query the server for exported shares.

## Configuration

The backend supports all common storage properties, except the shared flag, which is always set. Additionally, the following properties are used to configure the NFS server:

server

  Server IP or DNS name. To avoid DNS lookup delays, it is usually preferable to use an IP address instead of a DNS name - unless you have a very reliable DNS server, or list the server in the local `/etc/hosts` file.

export

  NFS export path (as listed by `pvesm nfsscan`).

You can also set NFS mount options:

path

  The local mount point (defaults to `/mnt/pve/<STORAGE_ID>/`).

content-dirs

  Overrides for the default directory layout. Optional.

options

  NFS mount options (see `man nfs`).

Configuration Example (`/etc/pve/storage.cfg`)

    nfs: iso-templates
            path /mnt/pve/iso-templates
            server 10.0.0.10
            export /space/iso-templates
            options vers=3,soft
            content iso,vztmpl

| After an NFS request times out, NFS request are retried indefinitely by default. This can lead to unexpected hangs on the client side. For read-only content, it is worth to consider the NFS `soft` option, which limits the number of retries to three.

## Storage Features

NFS does not support snapshots, but the backend uses `qcow2` features to implement snapshots and cloning.

Table 1. Storage features for backend `nfs`
Content types | Image formats | Shared | Snapshots | Clones
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
`images rootdir vztmpl iso backup snippets` | `raw qcow2 vmdk` | yes | qcow2 | qcow2

## Examples

You can get a list of exported NFS shares with:

    # pvesm scan nfs <server>

## See Also

- Storage