.PP
The file format is similar to the SunOS
.I exports
-file, except that several additional options are permitted. Each line
-contains an export point and a list of machine or netgroup names allowed
-to mount the file system at that point. An optional parenthesized list
-of export parameters may follow each machine name. Blank lines are
-ignored, and a # introduces a comment to the end of the line. Entries may
-be continued across newlines using a backslash.
+file. Each line contains an export point and a whitespace-separated list
+of clients allowed to mount the file system at that point. Each listed
+client may be immediately followed by a parenthesized, comma-separated
+list of export options for that client. No whitespace is permitted
+between a client and its option list.
+.PP
+Blank lines are ignored. A pound sign ("#") introduces a comment to the
+end of the line. Entries may be continued across newlines using a
+backslash. If an export name contains spaces it should be quoted using
+double quotes. You can also specify spaces or other unusual character in
+the export name using a backslash followed by the character code as three
+octal digits.
.PP
.SS Machine Name Formats
NFS clients may be specified in a number of ways:
You can also export directories to all hosts on an IP (sub-) network
simultaneously. This is done by specifying an IP address and netmask pair
as
-.IR address/netmask .
+.IR address/netmask
+where the netmask can be specified in dotted-decimal format, or as a
+contiguous mask length (for example, either `/255.255.252.0' or `/22' appended
+to the network base address result in identical subnetworks with 10 bits of
+host). Wildcard characters generally do not work on IP addresses, though they
+may work by accident when reverse DNS lookups fail.
.TP
'''.B =public
'''This is a special ``hostname'' that identifies the given directory name
projects / nfs-utils.git / blobdiff