2. Preface

2.1. General Overview

When building a client's root directory, and trying to limit ourselves to the minimum client size, we mainly focus on which files we can share, or mount from the server. In this Howto I will recommend the configuration of a client based on my experience. But beforewe begin please note:

• This Mini-Howto does not explain how to do the actual NFS Root mounting. Refer to the NFS-Root Mini-Howto if you need more information about that issue.

• I based most of my client's configuration on mounts and symbolic links. A lot of those symbolic links can be replaced by hardlinks. One should choose according to his personal preference. Putting a hardlink over a mount and a symbolic link has its advantages, but might cause confusion. A file will not be erased until all its hardlinks are removed. Thus, In order to prevent a case in which you upgrade a certain file, and the hardlinks still refer to the older version, you will have to be very careful and keep track of every link you put.

• While mounting the information from the server, two concepts can be used. The first (most common) concept, is to mount the whole server root directory under a local directory, and then just change the path or link the relevant directories there. I personally dislike mounting root partitions of a server on clients. Thus, this Howto suggests a way to mount the relevant directories of the server to the relevant places on the system.

• This Howto is based on my experience building client directories on a Slackware 3.1 based distribution. Things may be different (especially on the rc.* files), for other users, however the concepts should still remain the same.