Configuration Steps for Mounting NFS Datastore in vSphere

CDE.

To mount an NFS datastore in vSphere, the following three configuration steps are required:

1. Configure a VMkernel Network port for NFS traffic on each ESXi host: To mount an NFS datastore, the ESXi host must have access to the network where the NFS server is located. To do this, a VMkernel Network port for NFS traffic must be created on each ESXi host. This can be done by navigating to the "Networking" section of the vSphere Web Client, selecting "VMkernel adapters" and then clicking "Add host networking".

2. Configure VMkernel Port Binding: Once the VMkernel Network port for NFS traffic has been created, it must be bound to the appropriate network adapter using VMkernel Port Binding. This ensures that the NFS traffic is routed through the correct physical NIC. VMkernel Port Binding can be configured by navigating to the "Network Adapters" section of the vSphere Web Client, selecting the adapter and then clicking "Manage".

3. Configure an NFS volume and export it to be mounted on the ESXi hosts: On the NFS server, an NFS volume must be configured and exported to be mounted on the ESXi hosts. This involves creating a shared directory on the NFS server and configuring the necessary permissions to allow the ESXi hosts to access it. Once the NFS volume has been configured and exported, it can be mounted on the ESXi hosts by navigating to the "Storage" section of the vSphere Web Client, selecting "New Datastore" and then selecting "NFS".

Optional: If Kerberos authentication is used with the NFS 4.1 datastore, then the ESXi hosts must be configured for Kerberos authentication. This involves setting up a Kerberos key distribution center (KDC) and configuring the ESXi hosts to use it for authentication. This step is only required if Kerberos authentication is being used.