mount_nfs(8) on Solnix vs Linux and the BSDs
On Solnix there is no standalone mount_nfs command line like the BSDs have. The illumos page describes mount -F nfs, which takes only -F and -o. NFSv4 is the default version, and everything else is set through -o options. The BSD pages use single-letter flags such as -T, -s and -i.
The manual pages
- Solnix: mount_nfs(8) from
pkgs.solnix.illumos-world-man· illumos.org - FreeBSD: mount_nfs(8) 15.1-RELEASE
- OpenBSD: mount_nfs(8) 8.0
- NetBSD: mount_nfs(8) 11.0
What Solnix runs
A default Solnix system runs the illumos implementation, published in pkgs.solnix.illumos-world-man. The header says the file is not in /usr/bin, /usr/sbin or /sbin, and that daemons live under /usr/lib. The page SYNOPSIS is written as the mount command with -F nfs. No other variants are shipped.
Differences
| Compared with | Topic | What differs |
|---|---|---|
| FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD | how it is invoked | Solnix documents mount [-F nfs] [generic_options] [-o specific_options] resource [mount_point]. The mount_point can be omitted if the entry is in /etc/vfstab. The BSDs document mount_nfs ... rhost:path node, normally run by mount(8), and always take both arguments.Source: Solnix mount_nfs(8) SYNOPSIS, DESCRIPTION; FreeBSD/OpenBSD/NetBSD mount_nfs(8) SYNOPSIS |
| FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD | single-letter flags | Solnix has only -F and -o. All NFS tuning goes through -o. The BSDs have many flags: -T, -s, -i, -b, -r, -w, -x, -a, -g, -R and others. A BSD command line using these flags will not work on Solnix.Source: Solnix mount_nfs(8) SYNOPSIS, Options; FreeBSD/OpenBSD/NetBSD mount_nfs(8) SYNOPSIS |
| OpenBSD, NetBSD | default NFS version | Solnix supports NFSv3 and NFSv4 and defaults to NFSv4. OpenBSD and NetBSD default to trying version 3 first and falling back to version 2 if the mount fails. They select versions with -2 and -3.Source: Solnix mount_nfs(8) DESCRIPTION; OpenBSD mount_nfs(8) -3; NetBSD mount_nfs(8) -3 |
| FreeBSD | NFSv4 and default version | The FreeBSD page says NFSv4 uses RFC 7530, RFC 5661 and RFC 7862, and has -2 and -3 flags. The shown text does not state FreeBSD's default version, so do not assume it matches Solnix's NFSv4 default.Source: FreeBSD mount_nfs(8) DESCRIPTION, SYNOPSIS; Solnix mount_nfs(8) DESCRIPTION |
| OpenBSD | attribute cache defaults | Solnix defaults are acdirmin=30 and acregmin=3 (acdirmax and acregmax are 60). OpenBSD defaults acdirmin and acregmin to 5 seconds. FreeBSD documents 3 to 60 seconds for regular files and 30 to 60 for directories, the same as Solnix. Source: Solnix mount_nfs(8) acdirmin, acregmin; OpenBSD mount_nfs(8) -o acdirmin, acregmin; FreeBSD mount_nfs(8) acregmin..acdirmax |
| OpenBSD, NetBSD | transport selection | Solnix picks the first RDMA transport both sides support, then TCP, then UDP, in /etc/netconfig order. Use proto=netid|rdma to override. OpenBSD -T means use TCP instead of UDP. NetBSD has -T and -u, and tcp/udp options. Solnix does not support UDP for NFSv4.Source: Solnix mount_nfs(8) proto; OpenBSD mount_nfs(8) -T; NetBSD mount_nfs(8) -o tcp, udp |
| FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD | soft mounts with NFSv4 | On Solnix, NFSv4 clients do not support soft mounts; the default is hard. The BSD pages describe soft (-s or -o soft) without this NFSv4 restriction in the shown text.Source: Solnix mount_nfs(8) hard|soft; OpenBSD mount_nfs(8) -s; NetBSD mount_nfs(8) -o soft; FreeBSD mount_nfs(8) intr, soft options |
| FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD | interruptible mounts | Solnix defaults to intr, so keyboard interrupts can kill a process hung on a hard mount. On FreeBSD, hung operations wait uninterruptibly unless intr or soft is used. OpenBSD and NetBSD make a mount interruptible only with -i or -o intr.Source: Solnix mount_nfs(8) intr|nointr; FreeBSD mount_nfs(8) DESCRIPTION; OpenBSD mount_nfs(8) -i; NetBSD mount_nfs(8) -i |
| FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD | background retry | Solnix has bg|fg with fg the default. FreeBSD says mount_nfs keeps retrying until the mount succeeds, and adds bgnow to skip the foreground attempt. OpenBSD and NetBSD use -b, and OpenBSD sets the retry count with -R (default 10000).Source: Solnix mount_nfs(8) bg|fg; FreeBSD mount_nfs(8) DESCRIPTION, bgnow; OpenBSD mount_nfs(8) -b, -R |
| OpenBSD, NetBSD | noac meaning | On Solnix, noac suppresses data and attribute caching (write-behind), and the page keeps the local page cache. On NetBSD, noac is the same as -A, which disables the attribute cache. OpenBSD uses ac to enable attribute caching, with the no prefix to invert it.Source: Solnix mount_nfs(8) noac; NetBSD mount_nfs(8) -A, -o noac; OpenBSD mount_nfs(8) -o ac |
| FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD | URLs, failover and config files | Solnix accepts nfs://host[:port]/pathname URLs (RFC 2224), a public file handle option, and replicated server lists for failover. It reads /etc/vfstab and keeps /etc/mnttab, and starts lockd and statd if they are not running. The BSD pages show only rhost:path and refer to fstab(5).Source: Solnix mount_nfs(8) DESCRIPTION, public; FreeBSD/OpenBSD/NetBSD mount_nfs(8) SYNOPSIS, bg |
| FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD | Solnix-only options | Solnix lists forcedirectio, grpid, nocto, posix and quota|noquota as -o options. The shown BSD pages do not list them. FreeBSD documents other options, such as allgssname, gssname, bgnow and nametimeo.Source: Solnix mount_nfs(8) specific_options; FreeBSD mount_nfs(8) -o |
Standards
- POSIX: mount_nfs is not a POSIX.1-2024 utility.
- Solnix: The page says NFS URLs follow RFC 2224, NFS URL Scheme. The posix option requests POSIX.1 semantics and refers to standards(7).
- FreeBSD: For NFSv2 and NFSv3 the mount protocol is described in RFC 1094, Appendix A and RFC 1813, Appendix I. NFSv4 uses RFC 7530, RFC 5661 and RFC 7862.
- OpenBSD: The mount protocol is described in RFC 1094, Appendix A and NFS: Network File System Version 3 Protocol Specification, Appendix I.
- NetBSD: The mount protocol is described in RFC 1094, Appendix A and NFS: Network File System Version 3 Protocol Specification, Appendix I.
Writing portable scripts
- Do not call mount_nfs with BSD-style flags such as
-Tor-son Solnix. Use mount-Fnfs-o... there, and the-ooption list on each system. - Set bg or fg, hard or soft and intr explicitly instead of relying on defaults. The documented defaults differ between Solnix, FreeBSD and OpenBSD, and Solnix NFSv4 does not support soft.
Every difference here is taken from the manual pages linked above: Solnix's published page, Linux (man-pages and the GNU and util-linux manuals), FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD. Each row names its source. Where a manual is silent, this page is too. Compiled 2026-10-26. Found a mistake? Mail hackers@lists.solnix.io.