Mac OS X Server: Name Resolution Required for Client to Automount NFS Exports or AFP Home Directories
Symptoms
To automount AFP home directories or NFS exports created in Workgroup Manager, clients must be able to resolve the hostname of the server. This is normally accomplished by configuring DNS services on the network, but it can also be accomplished by specifying a "machine" record for the server in the client's NetInfo database.
NFS automounts created in Workgroup Manager in Mac OS X 10.2 Server do not automatically "mount" at clients.
For AFP home directories, you may see the alert message:
- "The 'Home' folder for user 'user' cannot be found in the usual place."
Products Affected
Mac OS X Server 10.4.7, Mac OS X Server 10.4, Mac OS X Server 10.3, Mac OS X Server 10.2, Mac OS X Server 10.5
Resolution
The best solution for both AFP and NFS is that the DNS server for the network should properly map the hostname of the server to its IP address. Adjust the existing DNS server, or add one if there is no DNS service on the network.
If you cannot achieve proper DNS service, there are alternate solutions.
Alternate solution for NFS
Alternate solution: Create a machine record in the local NetInfo database of each client which properly maps the hostname of the server to its IP address. For instructions, see technical document 88158, "Mac OS X 10.0: How to Add Hosts to Local NetInfo".
Alternate solution for AFP home directories
Choose the Advanced home directory type when creating users in Workgroup Manager. Specify the server's IP address rather than its name in the "Server/Share Point URL" and "Home" fields. See page 161 of the "Mac OS X Server Admin Guide for Mac OS X 10.2.3" for details.
The Admin Guide can be found on your server at /Library/Documentation/MacOSXServer/<language> or downloaded from Knowledge Base document 120174 (English version only).