nfs-common needed on NFS-rooted client?

nfs-common needed on NFS-rooted client?

[Mike]

For a client with an NFS root and no other NFS mounts, is it necessary
to have the utilities found in the Debian nfs-common package
<http://packages.debian.org/squeeze/nfs-common>?  Seems to be working
fine without.

Re: nfs-common needed on NFS-rooted client?

[Jim Rees]

Mike wrote:

  For a client with an NFS root and no other NFS mounts, is it necessary
  to have the utilities found in the Debian nfs-common package
  <http://packages.debian.org/squeeze/nfs-common>?  Seems to be working
  fine without.

The only thing you might need is the mount command, mount.nfs.  This isn't
used by the kernel for the root mount, but might be needed later for a
remount in user space.  There's also the unmount command, but presumably you
won't be using that.  And showmount, which isn't essential.  And the nfs(5)
man page.

The mount command also might be needed to update /etc/mtab if you don't have
it linked to /proc.  Does "mount" return the expected results?

I'm told by an expert that Ubuntu doesn't use the kernel root mount, but
bounces the initial mount up to user space in the initrd.  So you probably
do need nfs-common for Ubuntu.  Apparently Debian hasn't done this if it's
working for you.

Re: nfs-common needed on NFS-rooted client?

[Mike]

> The mount command also might be needed to update /etc/mtab if you don't have
> it linked to /proc.  Does "mount" return the expected results?

The kernel root mount is in /proc/mounts, but not in "mount"'s output.
A rootfs at / is present in both.

Re: nfs-common needed on NFS-rooted client?

[Jim Rees]

Mike wrote:

  > The mount command also might be needed to update /etc/mtab if you don't have
  > it linked to /proc.  Does "mount" return the expected results?
  
  The kernel root mount is in /proc/mounts, but not in "mount"'s output.
  A rootfs at / is present in both.

You could fix that, if you care, by linking /proc/mounts to /etc/mtab.  But
if you've got the rootfs entry then things like "df" are probably ok, so it
might not matter.

Other than that, I can't think of any reason you really need nfs-common,
especially since you say it works without.  Not having the man page for the
mount options might be your biggest problem.  Google "nfs mount options"
will fix that.