In this introductory NFS blog post, let me provide you with an overview of Server for NFS feature implementation in Windows Server 2012. Native NFS support with Windows Server started with Windows Server 2003 R2 and has evolved over time with continuous enhancement in terms of functionality, performance, and manageability.
Windows Server 2012 takes the support for the Server for NFS feature to a new level. The following are some of the highlights:
1. NFSv4.1 support : Support for the latest NFS version 4.1 is one of the major highlights with Windows Server 2012. All the mandatory aspects of RFC 5661 are implemented. NFSv4.1 protocol provides enhanced security, performance, and interoperability over NFSv3.
2. Out of the box performance : By utilizing the new native RPC-XDR transport infrastructure, optimal NFS performance can be expected right out of the box without having to tune any parameters. This feature provides auto-tuned cache and thread pools along with dynamic resource management based on the workload. Failover paths within NFS server have been tuned for better performance.
3. Easier deployment and manageability : Improvements are made on many fronts in terms of ease of deployment and manageability. To name a few:
a. 40+ Windows PowerShell cmdlets for easier NFS configuration, management of shares
b. Better identity mapping with local flat file mapping store and Windows PowerShell cmdlets
c. Simpler graphical user interface
d. New WMI v2 provider
e. RPC port multiplexer (port 2049) for firewall-friendliness
4. NFSv3 availability improvements : Fast failovers with new per-physical disk resource and tuned failover paths within NFS server. Network Status Monitor (NSM) notifications are sent out after a failover so that clients no longer need to wait for TCP timeouts to reconnect. This essentially means that NFSv3 clients can have fast and transparent failovers with more uptime (reduced downtime).
In summary, Windows Server 2012 delivers improvements in terms of ease of deployment, scalability, stability, availability, reliability, security and interoperability. Shares can be simultaneously accessed over SMB & NFS protocols. All these allow you to deploy Windows Server 2012 as a file server or a storage server in any demanding cross-platform environments.
We will be following-up with a number of detailed blog posts addressing the above listed features, which highlight Server for NFS feature and interoperability scenarios in Windows Server. So, stay tuned..
By the way, you can reach NFS/Windows related blogs using the URL http://aka.ms/nfs
