Chapter 15. Sharing files between the host and its virtual machines You may frequently require to share data between your host system and the virtual machines (VMs) it runs. To do so quickly and efficiently, you can set up NFS file shares on your system. 15.1. Sharing files between the host and its virtual machines by using NFS For efficient file sharing between the RHEL 8 host system and the virtual machines (VMs), you can export an NFS share that VMs can mount and access. Prerequisites The nfs-utils package is installed on the host. Virtual network of NAT or bridge type is configured to connect a host to VMs. Optional: For improved security, ensure your VMs are compatible with NFS version 4 or later. Procedure On the host, export a directory with the files you want to share as a network file system (NFS): Share an existing directory with VMs. If you do not want to share any of the existing directories, create a new one: Obtain the IP address of each VM to share files from the host, for example, testguest1 and testguest2 : Edit the /etc/exports file on the host and add a line that includes the directory you want to share, IPs of VMs to share, and additional options: The following example shares the /usr/local/shared-files directory on the host with testguest1 and testguest2 , and enables the VMs to edit the content of the directory: Note To share a directory with a Windows VM, you need to ensure the Windows NFS client has write permissions in the shared directory. You can use the all_squash , anonuid , and anongid options in the /etc/exports file. /usr/local/shared-files/ 192.0.2.2(rw,sync,all_squash,anonuid= <directory-owner-UID> ,anongid= <directory-owner-GID> ) The <directory-owner-UID> and <directory-owner-GID> are the UID and GID of the local user that owns the shared directory on the host. For other options to manage NFS client permissions, follow the Securing the NFS service guide. Export the updated file system: Start the nfs-server service: Obtain the IP address of the host system to mount the shared directory on the VMs: Note that the relevant network connects the host with VMs to share files. Usually, this is virbr0 . Mount the shared directory on a Linux VM that is specified in the /etc/exports file: 192.0.2.1 : The IP address of the host. /usr/local/shared-files : A file-system path to the exported directory on the host. /mnt/host-share : A mount point on the VM Note The mount point must be an empty directory. To mount the shared directory on a Windows VM as mentioned in the /etc/exports file: Open a PowerShell shell prompt as an Administrator. Install the NFS-Client package on the Windows. To install on a server version, enter: To install on a desktop version, enter: Mount the directory exported by the host on a Windows VM: In this example: 192.0.2.1 : The IP address of the host. /usr/local/shared-files : A file system path to the exported directory on the host. Z: : The drive letter for a mount point. Note You must choose a drive letter that is not in use on the system. Verification List the contents of the shared directory on the VM so that you can share files between the host and the VM: In this example, replace <mount_point> with a file system path to the mounted shared directory. Additional resources Deploying an NFS server

Commands:
yum install nfs-utils -y
mkdir shared-files
virsh domifaddr testguest1 Name MAC address Protocol Address ---------------------------------------------------------------- vnet0 52:53:00:84:57:90 ipv4 192.0.2.2/24 virsh domifaddr testguest2 Name MAC address Protocol Address ---------------------------------------------------------------- vnet1 52:53:00:65:29:21 ipv4 192.0.2.3/24
/home/<username>/Downloads/<shared_directory>/ <VM1-IP(options)> <VM2-IP(options)>
/usr/local/shared-files/ 192.0.2.2(rw,sync) 192.0.2.3(rw,sync)
exportfs -a
systemctl start nfs-server
ip addr 5: virbr0: [BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP] mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state UP group default qlen 1000 link/ether 52:54:00:32:ff:a5 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff inet 192.0.2.1/24 brd 192.0.2.255 scope global virbr0 valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
mount 192.0.2.1:/usr/local/shared-files /mnt/host-share
Install-WindowsFeature NFS-Client
Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -FeatureName ServicesForNFS-ClientOnly, ClientForNFS-Infrastructure -Online -NoRestart
C:\Windows\system32\mount.exe -o anon \\192.0.2.1\usr\local\shared-files Z:
ls <mount_point> shared-file1 shared-file2 shared-file3