NFS Services Administrator's Guide

Configuring and Administering NFS
Configuring and Administering AutoFS
Chapter 2 111
To Configure Multiple (Replicated) Servers for an
AutoFS Directory
1. Follow the instructions in “To Mount a Remote Directory Using a
Direct Automounter Map” on page 68 or “To Mount a Remote
Directory Using an Indirect Automounter Map” on page 72.
2. In the direct or indirect map, modify the line that mounts the remote
directory so that multiple servers are listed.
• If the remote directory has a different name on the different
servers, use a syntax like the following example from a direct
map:
/nfs/proj2/schedule -ro
broccoli:/export/proj2/schedule \
cauliflower:/proj2/FY94/schedule
AutoFS reads this entry as one line. The line has been broken for
readability, and the backslash (\) tells AutoFS that the line
continues after the line break.
• If the remote directory has the same name on every server, use a
syntax like the following example from an indirect map:
man -ro broccoli,cabbage,cauliflower:/usr/share/man
• You can assign weights to the various servers, by specifying a
number in parentheses after each server name. The lower the
weight number, the more likely the server is to be selected.
man -ro
broccoli(1),cabbage(2),cauliflower(3):/usr/share/man
Servers with no weight specified have a default weight of zero
(most likely to be selected).
Server proximity is more important than the weights you assign.
A server on the same network segment as the client is more
likely to be selected than a server on another network segment,
regardless of the weights you assign.
3. The /etc/netmasks file is required by AutoFS to determine the
local client’s subnets in the replicated servers environment. The
/etc/netmasks file must be created and configured manually for the
replicated servers functionality to work properly.