Setting Up a NFS Server on Your PowerMac G5 Mac OS X 10.5.8

As I write this article I am still working on resurrecting my PowerMac G5 Quad. But that project is on hiatus due to limited time and fundings. My PowerMac G5 Dual 2.3 Ghz is still in active service. All my project documents sit on this server as well as my home intranet video streaming library. I am still a die hard Mac guy. Sorry, you'll have to pry the UNIX from my cold dead hands! But my sons are tech geeks too and they venture out more and have their Windows 7 gaming systems. Since I work and save on a centralized server, my PowerMac G5, and I like consolidating libraries, my home needed a means to centralize access across different operating systems. And 'this ol'Mac' running her UNIX operating system (well Mac OS X 10.5.8) had the answer. NFS!

NFS is an acronym for Network File Server.

I was surprised at how easy it was to setup NFS on the PowerMac G5. Did a little Google-ing and in an 1/2 hour I had my sons Windows 7 gaming PC mounting a volume off my PowerMac G5 server.

So how is it one goes about firing up an NFS server running under Mac OS X 10.5.8? Well, I am so glad you asked. Here is how...

Step 1. Open a Terminal Window

You will need to create the file /etc/exports. This requires administrative privileges to create this file.

Applications->Utilities->Terminal

Create an entry for the directory you want to export. In this example, I exported my user directory.

/Users/mnorton

The PowerMac is sitting on network segment 10.0.0.0 255.255.255.0. You will need to know your ip address of your machine to determine what your network segment is.

Execute the following steps in the terminal window.

cd /etc
sudo vi /etc/exports

Press ESC+i to edit the newly created file. Then add your information. This entry allows offer machines on my network to mount my /Users/mnorton home directory.This is what I entered for my /etc/exports file.

/Users/mnorton -mapall=mnorton -network 10.0.0.0 -mask 255.255.255.0

Press ESC + : + wq   to save the file and quit.



Step 2. Update the NFS Daemon and Verify the Mount is Available

From your open terminal window type:

sudo nfsd update

Then verify the nfsd is running.

sudo nfsd status



If it is not running, kickstart the daemon.

sudo nfsd enable

Verify the mounts are available for export.

sudo showmount -e

You should see something that looks like this.

Exports list on localhost
/Users/mnorton                       10.0.0.0



Voila! You are up and running.

Step 3. Mounting from OS X

A really simple way to test the NFS mount is to go to the Finder.

From the Finder-> Go-> Connect to Server

Type in:

nfs://nfshostipaddress/filepath

nfs://10.0.0.14/Users/mnorton


This will mount the drive. Verified on Mavericks.

Step 4. Mounting from Windows 7

Fire up a windows 7 PC.

Go to Control Panel ->Program Features and select "Turn Windows Features On or Off"
Scroll down the window to NFS Services and enable all three options.


Now mount the drive using a drive mapping.

My Computer -> Map Network Drive
I mapped drive Z:
Folder: 10.0.0.14:/Users/mnorton

On windows 7 I see:
Computer->mnorton\(\\10.0.0.14\Users) (Z:)

That's it!

Viva la PowerMac G5!

Caveates

1. You will need to create an entry for every directory you want to access.
I needed to add a link directly to my media library and so forth.
2. Chicken of the VNC is conflicting now and I can't VNC in with the NFS server running. -more manuals to go read!!!

Enjoy fellow PowerMac Enthusiasts!

Mike


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