NFSv4 introduces the concept of the pseudo file system, where exports appear as directories. NFSv4 clients do not connect directly to NFS exports as in NFSv2/3. Instead all clients connect to the root of the pseudo file system, which is a virtual directory. The pseudo file system is generated automatically from the NFS exports, and is maintained automatically as exports are modified and removed. You can choose to present all the file systems in a single pseudo file system.
The server allows you to create views of many file systems from one point of contact, name spaces. These views are available on a per EVS basis or for the entire cluster.
This is an example of a pseudo file system:
A server named numbers has two exports: /one and /two. If a client wishes to get access to export /one, there are two ways to mount exports:
mount -t nfs4 numbers:/ /mnt
which mounts the pseudo file system at /mnt
mount -t nfs4 numbers:/one /mnt
which mounts the export /one at /mnt
The first method is only supported in NFSv4. The second method is supported in versions 2, 3, and 4. In the first method, the client can export /one with the command cd /mnt/one, and to export /two with cd /mnt/two.