RFC 3530 (rfc3530) - Page 2 of 275


Network File System (NFS) version 4 Protocol



Alternative Format: Original Text Document



RFC 3530                 NFS version 4 Protocol               April 2003


Table of Contents

   1.   Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    8
        1.1.  Changes since RFC 3010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    8
        1.2.  NFS version 4 Goals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    9
        1.3.  Inconsistencies of this Document with Section 18 . .    9
        1.4.  Overview of NFS version 4 Features . . . . . . . . .   10
              1.4.1.  RPC and Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   10
              1.4.2.  Procedure and Operation Structure. . . . . .   10
              1.4.3.  Filesystem Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   11
                      1.4.3.1.  Filehandle Types . . . . . . . . .   11
                      1.4.3.2.  Attribute Types. . . . . . . . . .   12
                      1.4.3.3.  Filesystem Replication and
                                Migration. . . . . . . . . . . . .   13
              1.4.4.  OPEN and CLOSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   13
              1.4.5.  File locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   13
              1.4.6.  Client Caching and Delegation. . . . . . . .   13
        1.5.  General Definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   14
   2.   Protocol Data Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   16
        2.1.  Basic Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   16
        2.2.  Structured Data Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   18
   3.   RPC and Security Flavor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   23
        3.1.  Ports and Transports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   23
              3.1.1.  Client Retransmission Behavior . . . . . . .   24
        3.2.  Security Flavors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   25
              3.2.1.  Security mechanisms for NFS version 4. . . .   25
                      3.2.1.1.  Kerberos V5 as a security triple .   25
                      3.2.1.2.  LIPKEY as a security triple. . . .   26
                      3.2.1.3.  SPKM-3 as a security triple. . . .   27
        3.3.  Security Negotiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   27
              3.3.1.  SECINFO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   28
              3.3.2.  Security Error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   28
        3.4.  Callback RPC Authentication. . . . . . . . . . . . .   28
   4.  Filehandles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   30
        4.1.  Obtaining the First Filehandle . . . . . . . . . . .   30
              4.1.1.  Root Filehandle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   31
              4.1.2.  Public Filehandle. . . . . . . . . . . . . .   31
        4.2.  Filehandle Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   31
              4.2.1.  General Properties of a Filehandle . . . . .   32
              4.2.2.  Persistent Filehandle. . . . . . . . . . . .   32
              4.2.3.  Volatile Filehandle. . . . . . . . . . . . .   33
              4.2.4.  One Method of Constructing a
                      Volatile Filehandle. . . . . . . . . . . . .   34
        4.3.  Client Recovery from Filehandle Expiration . . . . .   35
   5.   File Attributes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   35
        5.1.  Mandatory Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   37
        5.2.  Recommended Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   37
        5.3.  Named Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   37



Shepler, et al.             Standards Track