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Accessing NFS Share on Windows

This guide demonstrates how to connect a Windows system to a remote NFS storage, allowing access to files stored on an NFS server as if they were on a local drive.

Windows has native support for the NFS Client, available mainly in the following versions:

  • Windows 10 / 11 Pro
  • Windows 10 / 11 Enterprise
  • Windows 10 / 11 Education
  • Windows Server
warning

In Windows Home versions, the NFS client is usually not available.

📄 Prerequisites​

Before starting, verify that:

  • The NFS server is configured and accessible over the network
  • Port 2049/TCP is open in the firewall
  • The user has Administrator privileges

🚀 Step 1 – Install the NFS client on Windows​

First, enable the Client for NFS feature on Windows.

Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

Install-WindowsFeature NFS-Client
info

This command installs the component that allows Windows to access NFS shares.

➕ Step 2 – Mount the NFS share​

After installing the NFS client, use the command mount to connect to the server.

mount -o anon \\IP_DO_SERVIDOR\mnt\storage v:

Practical example​

mount.exe -o anon \\172.16.40.131\mnt\storage v:

In this example:

  • 172.16.40.131 → NFS server address (Public or Private)
  • /mnt/storage → directory exported on the server
  • v: → drive letter that will be mounted on Windows

After running the command, the share will appear as an additional drive in Windows.

Network Connectivity

The NFS share can be accessed using a private IP (recommended for internal networks, greater security, and lower latency) or a public IP, provided the service is properly exposed and the necessary ports are open (especially 2049/TCP).

❌ Step 3 – Verify if the share was mounted​

To list active NFS mounts, run:

mount.exe

It is also possible to check via Windows Explorer, where the drive will appear as a new disk.

Important settings​

🚧 Firewall​

The port used by NFS needs to be open on the server.

2049/TCP

Example of a firewall rule on Windows:

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Allow NFS Port 2049" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 2049 -Action Allow

🚗 Permissions​

On Windows, the parameter usually used is:

mount -o anon

This happens because Windows does not use the same UID/GID model as Linux.

❌ Unmount the share​

To remove the mounted share, use:

umount.exe v:

✅ Conclusion​

After configuration, the Windows system will be able to access the remote NFS storage as a local disk drive, facilitating file sharing between Linux and Windows environments.

This type of integration is common in:

  • hybrid Linux / Windows environments
  • application clusters
  • DevOps environments

🧠 Questions?​

Contact technical support and send your question; we will be available to help you!