NFSv4

Network File System version 4, commonly known as NFSv4, is a network file system protocol developed by Sun Microsystems, now Oracle. It is the latest major revision of the NFS protocol, designed to provide a more robust, secure, and efficient file sharing mechanism across networks compared to its predecessors. Key improvements in NFSv4 include a single protocol for all operations, eliminating the need for separate protocols like portmapper, mountd, and nlockmgr. This simplification enhances interoperability and reduces firewall complexity.

NFSv4 also introduces a stateful protocol, allowing clients and servers to maintain information about open files and locks. This statefulness contributes to improved performance and reliability, especially in distributed environments. Security is a significant enhancement, with NFSv4 integrating Kerberos for strong authentication, integrity, and privacy. It also supports Access Control Lists (ACLs) for more granular permission management.

Another notable feature is internationalization support, allowing for proper handling of filenames with various character sets. NFSv4's design aims to reduce network traffic and improve overall performance through features like compound operations, which allow multiple requests to be bundled into a single network round trip. It has become the de facto standard for Unix-like systems for network file sharing.