Install your own NFS ESXi storage server ★

This article provides a detailed walkthrough of building a high-performance NFS storage server and integrating it into an ESXi environment. First, a GPT partition is created using `fdisk`, formatted with `mkfs.ext4`, and the partition UUID is obtained. Next, the `/etc/fstab` file is edited to configure persistent mount points, ensuring automatic mounting after system reboots. Subsequently, `nfs-kernel-server` is installed, `/etc/exports` is configured to expose shared paths with access restricted to specific subnets, and the firewall is opened on port 2049. For network configuration, a fiber-optic direct connection approach is adopted to isolate storage traffic and enhance performance. Multiple fiber-optic ports are bridged into an independent subnet using `bridge-utils`, `isc-dhcp-server` is deployed to provide dynamic IP allocation for this storage network, and 9000-byte jumbo frames are enabled to optimize transmission efficiency. Additionally, Cockpit and its navigator plugin are installed to provide a web-based server status monitoring interface. Finally, on the ESXi side, a dedicated storage virtual switch and VMkernel adapter are created, and an NFS storage mapping is added in vCenter. The article recommends using CrystalDiskBench for performance benchmarking to verify a transfer speed of approximately 1200 MB/s under a 10 Gbps network, ensuring the storage system meets the expected high-performance standards.