The nfsstat command is used to display or reset the number of calls made to the NFS server. It can provide useful information about the usage and activity of the NFS server. This article will illustrate two use cases of the nfsstat command.

Use case 1: Display the recorded number of calls made to the NFS server

Code:

nfsstat

Motivation: When managing an NFS server, it can be beneficial to know the number of calls made to the server. This information gives insight into the server’s activity and workload, helping to identify potential performance issues or detect any unusual patterns in server usage.

Explanation: The nfsstat command without any arguments displays the recorded number of calls made to the NFS server. It provides different statistics related to the NFS server’s operations, such as the number of read and write requests, the number of file handles cached, and error statistics.

Example Output:

Client rpc stats:
calls      badcalls   badclnt    badauth    xdrcall
0          0          0          0          0

Client nfs v4:
null        read        write       commit      open        open_conf
0           0           0           0           0           0

In this example output, the statistics for the Client rpc and Client nfs v4 are displayed. The numbers under each operation indicate the number of calls made to the NFS server for that specific operation.

Use case 2: Reset the recorded number of calls made to the NFS server

Code:

nfsstat -z

Motivation: Resetting the recorded number of calls made to the NFS server can be useful in scenarios where you want to start tracking the server activity from a clean slate. This can be helpful for performance testing, troubleshooting, or tracking specific activities on the server.

Explanation: The -z argument is used with the nfsstat command to reset the recorded number of calls made to the NFS server. When this argument is provided, all the statistics related to NFS server operations are reset to zero, allowing you to start fresh with new statistics.

Example Output:

NFS server Prog stats:
null         getattr      setattr      lookup       access       readlink
0            0            0            0            0            0

In this example output, the statistics for various NFS server operations are displayed. Notice that all the numbers are reset to zero because the -z argument was used with the nfsstat command.

Conclusion:

The nfsstat command is a useful tool for monitoring and managing an NFS server. It provides insightful statistics about the server’s activity and allows you to reset the recorded number of calls if needed. By using the examples provided in this article, you can leverage the nfsstat command effectively to better understand and optimize your NFS server’s performance.