NFS Services Administrator's Guide (B.11.31.03) August 2008

NOTE: In NFSv2 and NFSv3, ACLs are manipulated using NFSACL protocol.
If systems in your environment do not support the NFSACL protocol, then ACLs
cannot be manipulated using this feature.
• File Handle Types
File handles are created on the server and contain information that uniquely identify
files and directories. Following are the different file handle types:
— ROOT
The ROOT file handle represents the conceptual root of the file system
namespace on an NFS server. The NFS client starts with the ROOT file handle
by using the PUTROOTFH operation. This operation instructs the server to set
the current file handle to the root of the server file tree. If you use the
PUTROOTFH operation, the client can traverse the entire file tree using the
LOOKUP operation.
— Persistent
The persistent file handle is an assigned fixed value for the lifetime of the
filesystem object that it refers to. When the server creates the file handle for a
filesystem object, the server must accept the same file handle for the lifetime
of the object. The persistent file handle persists across server reboots and
filesystem migrations.
— Volatile
Volatile file handles can be set to expire at a certain time. For example, they
can be set to expire during the filesystem migration. This file handle type is
useful for servers that cannot implement persistent file handles. However, the
volatile file handles do not share the same longevity characteristics of a
persistent file handle, because these file handles can become invalid or expire.
NOTE: HP-UX supports only persistent file handles. The client must know
how to handle persistent and volatile file handles. However, the server is not
required to support both types.
• Namespace Changes
The namespace describes the set of available files that are arranged in a hierarchy.
When a server shares files, it typically shares only a portion of its namespace. In
NFSv4, the shared namespace of the server forms a single hierarchy.
When a server shares separate filesystems as a disconnected portion of its
namespace, the server creates a pseudo filesystem to bridge the unshared portions
of the namespace. This enables a client, which has been enabled to traverse remote
New Features in NFS 17