NFS Client¶

Description¶

NFS (Network File System) lets a host mount a directory exported by a remote server as if it were a local filesystem. The client packages provide the kernel helpers and userspace tools to perform that mount.

Overview¶

This role installs the distro-appropriate NFS client packages on every host in the Ansible group svc-swarm-node and probe-mounts the configured storage.nfs.server and the export base from the svc-storage-nfs-server services.yml SPOT to confirm reachability and writability at deploy time. The actual docker volume mounts happen later, driven by the Docker engine at container start.

Cosmos¶

The diagram places NFS Client in the Infinito.Nexus cosmos: the components it deploys (capabilities), the central services it consumes (dependencies), and its outward reach (federation and bridged external networks).

flowchart LR
    subgraph deps [Dependencies]
        dep_svc_storage_nfs_server["svc-storage-nfs-server 💻"]
    end
    subgraph role [svc-storage-nfs-client 💻]
        svc_nfs_server["nfs-server"]
        svc_nfs_client["nfs-client"]
    end
    dep_svc_storage_nfs_server -. "0..1" .-> svc_nfs_server

Solid 1:1 edges are fixed relationships; dashed 0..1 edges are conditional (enabled only in matching deployments); red 0..0 edges are turned off in this role. Node markers show the role’s deploy modes (💻 host, 🐳 compose, 🐝 swarm); ❌ marks a service that is explicitly turned off, and ⚙️ an Ansible role dependency declared in meta/main.yml.

Features¶

Distro-aware packages: Installs nfs-common on Debian/Ubuntu, nfs-utils on Arch / RHEL / Fedora / Alpine.
Ephemeral probe mount: Mounts the export, writes a marker, then unmounts; failures surface immediately at deploy time, never at first container boot.
Strict assertion: Missing storage.nfs.server or fails the deploy with a precise error.
Node-local backups: After the state mount, binds the node’s own /var/lib/infinito-backup over /var/lib/infinito/backup, so every backup repository on a swarm node is written to local disk with its extended attributes, and the backup host pulls it from there. Generations written to the share before the bind stay under the export’s backup/ directory, hidden from the nodes; remove them there by hand.
Directory delegations off against old ganesha: When the server runs nfs-ganesha older than 9.11, every client and the controller set the kernel’s nfsv4 parameter directory_delegations to N, at runtime and in /etc/modprobe.d. The parameter is kernel-wide, so on a lab whose nodes share one kernel it covers every NFS mount of that host until the module reloads.

Quick Setup¶

Development¶

Clone, set up the workstation, and deploy NFS Client onto the local stack:

git clone https://github.com/infinito-nexus/core.git
cd core
make onboard
make compose-deploy mode=reinstall apps=svc-storage-nfs-client full_cycle=false

Production¶

Install NFS Client directly onto the target machine: clone the repository, install the OS prerequisites and the repository toolchain, then deploy against localhost over a local connection (no SSH, no container):

git clone https://github.com/infinito-nexus/core.git
cd core
bash scripts/install/package.sh
make install
source scripts/meta/env/load.sh

APP=svc-storage-nfs-client
DOMAIN=<your-domain>
TLS_MODE=self_signed
SSH_PUBLIC_KEY="<your-ssh-public-key>"
INVENTORY=inventories/production
infinito administration inventory provision "$INVENTORY" \
  --inventory-file "$INVENTORY/devices.yml" \
  --host localhost \
  --include "$APP" \
  --vars "{\"TLS_MODE\": \"$TLS_MODE\", \"DOMAIN_PRIMARY\": \"$DOMAIN\", \"users\": {\"administrator\": {\"authorized_keys\": [\"$SSH_PUBLIC_KEY\"]}}}"
infinito administration deploy dedicated "$INVENTORY/devices.yml" \
  --password-file "$INVENTORY/.password" \
  --diff -vv

Credits¶

Implemented by Kevin Veen-Birkenbach. Part of the Infinito.Nexus Project and maintained by Kevin Veen-Birkenbach. Licensed under the Infinito.Nexus Community License (Non-Commercial).