NFS Services Administrator's Guide

Configuring and Administering NFS
Configuring and Administering AutoFS
Chapter 2 121
Hierarchical automounter maps provide a framework within which large
shared filesystems can be organized. Together with NIS, which allows
you to share information across administrative domains, the
maintenance of the shared namespace can be effectively decentralized.
To Turn Off an Automounter Map with the -null Map
1. Add a line with the following syntax to the automounter master map:
local_directory -null
2. If AutoFS is running, issue the following command, on each client
that will use the map, to force AutoFS to reread its maps:
/usr/sbin/automount
The -null option “turns off” the map that is mounted on
local_directory. For example, if the NIS auto_master map mounts
the auto_home map on /home, and you include the following line in your
local /etc/auto_master file,
/home -null
the NIS auto_home map will not be used on your system.
The -null option is useful for turning off NIS automounter maps that do
not apply to your host.
You can also replace NIS maps with local maps, as in the following
example from /etc/auto_master:
/home /etc/auto_ourhome
Because AutoFS reads the local /etc/auto_master file before the NIS
auto_master map, this entry causes AutoFS to look for mount
information in the local file /etc/auto_ourhome instead of the
auto_home NIS map.
For more information, type man 1M automount.
To Enable AutoFS
1. In the /etc/rc.config.d/nfsconf file, make sure the NFS_CLIENT,
AUTOMOUNT, and the AUTOFS variables are set to 1, as follows:
NFS_CLIENT=1
AUTOMOUNT=1
AUTOFS=1