NFS Services Administrator's Guide (B.11.31.04) March 2009

directory. The mount options configured in the indirect map override the ones in the
master map if there is a conflict.
Indirect maps are usually called /etc/auto_name, where name helps you remember
what is configured in the map. Following is the syntax of the indirect map:
local mount-point mount options remote server:directory
where:
local mount-point Simple name in the indirect map
mount options Options you want to apply to this mount.
remote server:directory Location of the directory, on the server, that is to
be mounted.
If the indirect map name in the AutoFS master map begins with a slash (/), AutoFS
assumes that it is a local file. If it does not contain a slash, AutoFS uses the Name Service
Switch to determine whether it is a file, LDAP, or an NIS map. For more information
on configuring the Name Service Switch, see nsswitch.conf(4).
Sample File Entries for NFS Indirect Automounts
The local_subdirectory specified in an indirect map is the lowest-level subdirectory
in the local directory path name. For example, if you are mounting a remote directory
on /nfs/apps/draw, draw is the local_subdirectory specified in the indirect
map.
Following are sample lines from the AutoFS master map on the NFS client, sage. The
master map also includes an entry for the /etc/auto_direct direct map.
# /etc/auto_master file
# local mount-point map name mount options
/- /etc/auto_direct
/nfs/desktop /etc/auto_desktop
The local_parent_directory specified in the master map consists of directories,
except the lowest-level subdirectory in the local directory pathname. For example, if
you are mounting a remote directory on /nfs/apps/draw, /nfs/apps is the
local_parent_directory specified in the master map.
You can configure indirect automounts in the same indirect map only if their
local_parent_directory, as specified in the master map, is the same. For example,
indirect mounts with the local mount-points, /nfs/apps/draw and /nfs/apps/word,
can be configured in the same indirect map.
Following are sample lines from an AutoFS indirect map on the NFS client, sage. The
hash (#) symbol indicates a commented line.
# /etc/auto_desktop file
# local mount-point mount options remote server:directory
86 Configuring and Administering AutoFS