NFS Services Administrator's Guide (5900-1632, August 2011)

For more information on configuring the NSS, see nsswitch.conf (4) and automount(1M) .
To configure AutoFS using the /etc/default/autofs file, follow these steps:
1. Log in as superuser.
2. Edit the /etc/default/autofs file. For instance, to change the default time for which a
filesystem remains mounted when not in use, modify the AUTOMOUNT_TIMEOUT variable, as
follows:
AUTOMOUNT_TIMEOUT=720
For the list of parameters supported in the /etc/default/autofs file, see autofs(1M).
NOTE: Values modified using the /etc/default/autofs file are updated when the command
or daemon is started. This update is made irrespective of the way the command or daemon is
started, Autofs startup script or command-line.
Enabling AutoFS
To enable AutoFS, follow these steps:
1. In the /etc/rc.config.d/nfsconf file, set the value of AUTOFS variables to 1, as follows:
AUTOFS=1
2. Configure AutoFS using either the /etc/rc.config.d/nfsconf or the /etc/default/
autofs configuration files. If you use a local file as the master map, ensure that the
AUTO_MASTER variable in /etc/rc.config.d/nfsconf is set to the name of the master
map, as follows:
AUTO_MASTER=”/etc/auto_master”
If the -f option is not specified for the automount command then the Name Service Switch
(NSS) is used to get the master map. If the master map is not found in any of the backends,
then it tries the default master map name/etc/auto_master. If the -f option is specified
for the automount command, then it uses that file irrespective of what the backend says.
However, if the file is not found, then it will try the /etc/auto_master file. If you use an
NIS AutoFS master map, ensure that -f $AUTO_MASTER is not present in the
AUTOMOUNT_OPTIONS variable.
3. To run the AutoFS startup script, enter the following command:
/sbin/init.d/autofs start
Notes on AutoFS Master Map
The AutoFS master map file, /etc/auto_master by default, determines the locations of all
AutoFS mount-points. At system startup, the automount command reads the master map to create
the initial set of AutoFS mounts. Subsequent to system startup, the automount command maybe
run to install AutoFS mounts for new entries in the master map or a direct map, or to perform
unmounts for entries that have been removed from these maps.
Following is a syntax of an auto_master file:
mount-point map-name [mount-options]
where:
mount-point Directory on which an AutoFS mount is made.
map-name Map associated with mount-point specifying locations of filesystems to mount.
mount-options Options that apply to the maps specified by map-name.
If the first field specifies the directory as /-, then the second field is the name of the direct map.
The master map file, like any other map file, may be distributed by NIS or LDAP by modifying the
appropriate configuration files and removing any existing /etc/auto_master master map file.
58 Configuring and Administering AutoFS