Section C: Configuring a filer for WebNFS

About configuring a filer for WebNFS

The filer can respond to NFS requests from browsers

The filer can use NFS rather than HTTP to respond to file transfer requests made through Web browsers that support the WebNFS protocol.

The filer does not need a license for the HTTP protocol to respond to WebNFS requests; however, the filer must be licensed for the NFS protocol.

Web browser requirements

To access files through the WebNFS protocol, users type URLs that start with "nfs://". Web browsers must be capable of sending requests using the WebNFS protocol.

Advantages of WebNFS

With WebNFS, the filer can transfer files much faster than with HTTP because the WebNFS protocol can transfer several files, including graphics files, with only one TCP connection. The HTTP protocol, in version 1.1, requires a separate connection for each file that is transferred.

How WebNFS restricts file access

WebNFS access does not use the mount command to enable access to a subtree, and does not consider UID/GID mappings.

Requests are restricted as follows:

Requests are honored only for files in subtrees that have been exported.
If a subtree has been exported with the -o access option, files in that subtree are not available through WebNFS.

Related information

For information about the exportfs command, consult the na_exportfs(1) man page.

Part No. 210-02334
File: nfs14.htm
Last updated: 02/24/99 12:16:26