NFS Services Administrator's Guide

Configuring and Administering AutoFS
AutoFS Configuration Prerequisites
Chapter 3 113
AutoFS Configuration Prerequisites
Consider the following before configuring AutoFS:
• Ensure that the local directory you configure as the mount point is
either empty or nonexistent. If the local directory you configured as
the mount point is not empty, any local files or directories in it are
hidden and become inaccessible if the automounted filesystem is
mounted over it.
• Before you can mount a remote directory on a client, you must
configure the remote system where the directory is located, as an
NFS server and you must export the directory.
• If you change the mount options, the remote server name, or the
remote directory name for an existing direct or indirect mount while
AutoFS is running, the changes you made take effect only when the
directory is mounted the next time. However, if you change the local
directory name in the direct or indirect map, or if you change the
master map, these changes do not take effect until you run the
automount command to force AutoFS to reread its maps.