How to mount NFS with Synology RackStation share drive on Linux

If you want to share your Synology RackStation share drive with your Linux Desktop or Server and have it appear as just another folder, you can set the Synology unit to automount on your Linux OS.

NFS-COMMON installation

Definition: nfs-common:  NFS support files common to client and server Use this package on any machine that does NFS either as client or server. Programs included: lockd, statd, showmount, and nfsstat. Upstream: SourceForge project “nfs”, CVS module nfs-utils.

Open a Terminal “CTRL+ALT+T” and type this command line:

Debian/Ubuntu

sudo -i

apt-get install nfs-common

or

sudo apt-get install nfs-common

Red Hat / CentOS

su
yum install nfs-common

Find out your IP address on your local network.

ifconfig

Let’s assume your IP on the local network are:

10.129.192.50 and 191.191.191.50 (as shown in the figure).

 

Synology Login

Login to the Synology RackStation Administration Control Interface and then open the Control Panel.

 

NFS Privileges

Click on “Shared Folder” which will show you a list of your shared folders.  Synology comes with the ability to share folders using the nfs protocol.  It is a secure protocol that requires you to add the IP address of the computer that is going to be allowed to access files on the Synology NAS.  Once you see the shared folders, select the folder you want to share, then click on “Privileges” and then “NFS Privileges”.

 

NFS rule

In the next window, click on “Create” and then add the IP address of the computer with which you want to share that folder.  You should also decide what privileges you want to grant that computer.  If you grant it read/write privileges, that computer can modify files.  If you grant it the read privilege, that computer can only read files.

 

 

Create Directory

Once you’ve done that, you should be able to access the shared folder over your network.  However, what we want to do is make any shared folders automatically mount over the network every time you start your computer.  To do so, you’ll need to do two more things.  First, create a folder on your computer to map the shared folder to.  An ideal location is in your home folder since you already have read/write privileges there.  So, for instance, if you are sharing files over the network, create a folder in your home directory called “personal_folder” by doing the following from the terminal

mkdir /home/groups/personal_folder

 

Edit fstab file

Next, you’ll need to edit your /etc/fstab file.  To do so, open a terminal and type:

Debian / Ubuntu

For Desktop

gksu gedit /etc/fstab

For Server

sudo nano /etc/fstab

Red Hat / CentOS

For Desktop

su
gedit /etc/fstab

For Server

su
nano /etc/fstab

This should open the /etc/fstab file in a text editing program.  You’ll need to add the following lines to your /etc/fstab file:

I like to add a comment line so I know what my command is doing.  Here’s the line I add:

#share personal folder
191.191.191.61:/volume1/personal_folders     /home/groups/personal nfs rw,user 0 0

Save the file and close it. or typy “CTRL + o” to save it and  “CTRL + x” to close it.

Mount the share drives

Now, assuming you’ve done everything correctly, type the following into a terminal to mount the shared folder:

Debian / Ubuntu

sudo mount -a

Red Hat / CentOS

su
mount -a

Your shared folder should now show up in your file explorer (e.g. personal_folder) and should do so every time you start your computer.  Depending on the privileges you granted yourself on the Synology NAS, you should be able to read and/or write whatever files you’ve stored on the Synology unit as if they were on your own computer.