NFS Services Administrator's Guide

Configuring and Administering NFS
Configuring and Administering AutoFS
Chapter 294
Configuring and Administering AutoFS
This section tells you how to configure AutoFS. AutoFS mounts
directories automatically when users or processes request access to
them, and it unmounts them automatically after they have been idle for
a period of time (five minutes, by default).
Following are the tasks involved in configuring AutoFS. Tasks 4 and 16
alone will get AutoFS up and running on your system.
Before configuring AutoFS, see “Deciding Between Standard-Mounted
Directories and Automounted Directories” on page 37. The following
topics are covered in this section:
1. “Advantages of AutoFS Versus Automounter” on page 95
2. “Migrating From Automounter to AutoFS” on page 96
3. “To Understand How AutoFS Works” on page 97
4. “To Automount All Exported Directories from Any Host Using the
-hosts Map” on page 99
5. “To Decide Between Direct and Indirect NFS Automounts” on
page 101
6. “To Mount a Remote Directory Using a Direct Automounter Map” on
page 103
7. “To Mount a Remote Directory Using an Indirect Automounter Map”
on page 107
8. “To Configure Multiple (Replicated) Servers for an AutoFS Directory”
on page 111
9. “To Use Environment Variables as Shortcuts in Automounter Maps”
on page 113
10. “To Use Wildcard Characters as Shortcuts in Automounter Maps” on
page 114
11. “To Automount Users’ Home Directories” on page 116
12. “To Automount Multiple Directories Simultaneously (Hierarchical
Mounts)” on page 118
13. “To Include an Automounter Map in Another Automounter Map” on
page 119