Network file systems, also referred to as client/server file systems, provide client systems with access to files that are stored on a shared server. This makes it possible for multiple users on multiple systems to share files and storage resources.

Such file systems are built from one or more servers that export a set of file systems to one or more clients. The client nodes do not have access to the underlying block storage. Instead, they interact with the storage by using a protocol that allows for better access control.

Available network file systems

• The most common client/server file system for RHEL customers is the Network File Systems (NFS). RHEL provides both an NFS server component to export a local file system over the network and an NFS client to import these file systems.
• RHEL also includes a Common Internet File System (CIFS) client. This supports the popular Microsoft Server Message Block (SMB) file servers for Windows interoperability. The userspace Samba server provides Windows clients with a Microsoft SMB service from a RHEL server.