1. Database Installation Guide
  2. Configuring File System Storage for Oracle Database
  3. Deploying Oracle Direct NFS
  4. Creating an oranfstab File for Direct NFS Client

Creating an oranfstab File for Direct NFS Client

Direct NFS uses a configuration file, oranfstab, to determine the available mount points.

Create an oranfstab file with the following attributes for each NFS server that you want to access using Direct NFS Client:

  • server

    The NFS server name.

    For NFS setup with Kerberos authentication, the server attribute name must be the fully-qualified name of the NFS server. This server attribute name is used to create service principal for Ticket Granting Service (TGS) request from the Kerberos server. If you are configuring external storage snapshot cloning, then the NFS server name should be a valid host name. For all other scenarios, the NFS server name can be any unique name.

  • local

    Up to four paths on the database host, specified by IP address or by name, as displayed using the ifconfig command run on the database host.

  • path

    Up to four network paths to the NFS server, specified either by IP address, or by name, as displayed using the ifconfig command on the NFS server.

  • export

    The exported path from the NFS server.

  • mount

    The corresponding local mount point for the exported volume.

  • mnt_timeout

    Specifies (in seconds) the time Direct NFS Client should wait for a successful mount before timing out. This parameter is optional. The default timeout is 10 minutes (600).

  • nfs_version

    Specifies the NFS protocol version used by Direct NFS Client. Possible values are NFSv3, NFSv4, NFSv4.1, and pNFS. The default version is NFSv3. If you select NFSv4.x, then you must configure the value in oranfstab for nfs_version.

    Specify nfs_version as pNFS, if you want to use Direct NFS with Parallel NFS. Direct NFS supports only the default sys security authentication with Parallel NFS. Direct NFS does not support Parallel NFS when combined with any of the Kerberos authentication parameters.

  • security_default

    Specifies the default security mode applicable for all the exported NFS server paths for a server entry. This parameter is optional. sys is the default value. See the description of the security parameter for the supported security levels for the security_default parameter.

  • security

    Specifies the security level, to enable security using Kerberos authentication protocol with Direct NFS Client. This optional parameter can be specified per export-mount pair. The supported security levels for the security_default and security parameters are:

    • sys: UNIX level security AUTH_UNIX authentication based on user identifier (UID) and group identifier (GID) values. This is the default value for security parameters.
    • krb5: Direct NFS runs with plain Kerberos authentication. Server is authenticated as the real server which it claims to be.
    • krb5i: Direct NFS runs with Kerberos authentication and NFS integrity. Server is authenticated and each of the message transfers is checked for integrity.
    • krb5p: Direct NFS runs with Kerberos authentication and NFS privacy. Server is authenticated, and all data is completely encrypted.

    The security parameter, if specified, takes precedence over the security_default parameter. If neither of these parameters are specified, then sys is the default authentication.

    For NFS server Kerberos security setup, review the relevant NFS server documentation. For Kerberos client setup, review the relevant operating system documentation.

  • dontroute

    Specifies that outgoing messages should not be routed by the operating system, but instead sent using the IP address to which they are bound.

    Note:

    The dontroute option is a POSIX option, which sometimes does not work on Linux systems with multiple paths in the same subnet.

  • management

    Enables Direct NFS Client to use the management interface for SNMP queries. You can use this parameter if SNMP is running on separate management interfaces on the NFS server. The default value is the server parameter value.

  • community

    Specifies the community string for use in SNMP queries. Default value is public.

The following examples show three possible NFS server entries in oranfstab. A single oranfstab can have multiple NFS server entries.

Example 8-1 Using Local and Path NFS Server Entries

The following example uses both local and path. Because they are in different subnets, you do not have to specify dontroute. 

server: MyDataServer1
local: 192.0.2.0
path: 192.0.2.1
local: 192.0.100.0
path: 192.0.100.1
export: /vol/oradata1 mount: /mnt/oradata1

Example 8-2 Using Local and Path in the Same Subnet, with dontroute

Local and path in the same subnet, where dontroute is specified: 

server: MyDataServer2
local: 192.0.2.0
path: 192.0.2.128
local: 192.0.2.1
path: 192.0.2.129
dontroute
export: /vol/oradata2 mount: /mnt/oradata2

Example 8-3 Using Names in Place of IP Addresses, with Multiple Exports, management and community

server: MyDataServer3
local: LocalPath1
path: NfsPath1
local: LocalPath2
path: NfsPath2
local: LocalPath3
path: NfsPath3
local: LocalPath4
path: NfsPath4
dontroute
export: /vol/oradata3 mount: /mnt/oradata3
export: /vol/oradata4 mount: /mnt/oradata4
export: /vol/oradata5 mount: /mnt/oradata5
export: /vol/oradata6 mount: /mnt/oradata6
management: MgmtPath1
community: private

Example 8-4 Using Kerberos Authentication with Direct NFS Export

The security parameter overrides security_default: 

server:  nfsserver
 local: 192.0.2.0
 path: 192.0.2.2
 local: 192.0.2.3
 path: 192.0.2.4
 export: /private/oracle1/logs  mount: /logs  security: krb5
 export: /private/oracle1/data  mount: /data  security: krb5p
 export: /private/oracle1/archive mount: /archive security: sys 
 export: /private/oracle1/data1 mount: /data1
 security_default: krb5i

Parent topic: Deploying Oracle Direct NFS