Connect NFS shares and understand their options

An NFS server provides an export path which OpenATV mounts as a client. The receiving box does not need to run an NFS server. Another receiver can act as the NFS server.

Prepare the NAS

Enable NFS in the NAS administration and permit access to the intended folder from the receiver’s IP address. A router DHCP reservation keeps that address stable. Allow writing only for recording or deleting files. Use the advertised export path, rather than the SMB share name.

Typical home-network NFS using AUTH_SYS relies on the client address and user/group IDs (UID/GID). SMB credentials do not grant NFS permissions. NFSv4 is not automatically encrypted either; this basic workflow is for a trusted local network.

Enter the mount in OpenATV

Open Menu → Setup → Network → Network Mounts Overview → MENU → Add Mount Manually. Address 192.0.2.10 is for documentation only; replace it with your server.

Field	Example
Enabled / Protocol	Yes / NFS
Server	Your NAS address; the screenshot uses 192.0.2.10
Remote path	Export supplied by the server, /srv/recordings in this example
Local share	nas-recordings
Mount mode	Mount on first access (autofs)
Use as HDD replacement	No; choose the recording directory separately
Access mode	Read/Write for recordings, otherwise Read-Only where appropriate
NFS version	Automatic initially, unless the server requires a specific version

Unsaved example in the native dialog. This address is not a tested NAS, and existing shares were not changed. Open original image ↗

Save your own values and open /media/autofs/nas-recordings in the file selector. First access triggers mounting. Check reading and use an expendable test file to check creating, renaming and deleting. Then select the NAS recording destination.

NFSv3 and NFSv4

Automatic lets the client and server negotiate. A fixed choice forces NFSv3 or NFSv4 and fails if the other endpoint cannot provide it. Paths can differ: an NFSv4 export namespace may expose a different client path from the server’s local directory name.

NFSv3 normally uses additional RPC services for mount discovery and locking. NFSv4 integrates more functions and normally uses TCP 2049. A firewall between receiver and NAS must allow the services actually required by that configuration. Opening port 2049 alone is not a universal NFSv3 setup.

showmount -e SERVER can list exports if the tool and corresponding server service are available. An NFSv4-only server does not have to answer this request. An empty discovery result therefore does not prove the export is absent; use the server’s documented path.

Additional NFS options

Timeout and Soft mount control failure behaviour; they are not general speed switches. Open original image ↗

Setting	Meaning and starting point
Use NFS file locking	Leave enabled for coordinated file access. No adds nolock; use only for a suitable older server. NFSv4 locking is part of the protocol.
Read/write block size	rsize and wsize limit data per request. Automatic allows negotiation. These sizes are not the network MTU.
Timeout	Dialog value 0 retains the kernel default. Other values become timeo, in tenths of a second: 50 means 5 seconds before retrying. This does not cap the total duration of a blocked operation.
Soft mount	No is the default: normal hard mounts retry failed requests and can wait. Soft mounts can return errors to applications; writes can suffer data loss or corruption. Do not enable as a blanket spinner fix for recordings.
Optional arguments	Comma-separated extra parameters not already set above. The checked dialog rejects duplicates and reserved options.

The checked manager supplies proto=tcp itself. Automatic omits fixed NFS versions and block sizes; Soft = No omits soft. Do not repeat rw, nfsvers, rsize, wsize, timeo, hard or soft in the extra field. Do not blindly copy old examples with udp, nolock or very short timeouts.

Permission denied or recording failure

Check client IP, export path, NFS version and export rules first, followed by server file permissions. rw permits writing at the export level; it does not create missing user permissions.

Many Enigma2 processes run as root. A server using root_squash maps these requests to an unprivileged account. Recording fails if that account cannot write the destination, even after a successful mount. Configure an appropriate mapping or folder-specific permission on the NAS. no_root_squash gives clients extensive root privileges and is not a general repair step.

For outages, see autofs, fstab and spinners and Find logs.

Verification: Native dialogs with unsaved example data and source code checked. No external NFS export was configured and no NFS recording was performed for this chapter.

Sources: Mount dialog, generated options, NFS client and failure handling, NFS fundamentals.