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====== Accessing Shares via NFS ======

Network File System (NFS) is a distributed file system protocol allowing a system to share directories and files with others over a network. Like SMB, NFS grants file-level access to users and programs.

NFS is widely distributed to host VMWare datastores or share network folders in a Linux/UNIX environment.

When enabling NFS service on a share, it can be accessed with the following path:

NAS_NAME_OR_IP_ADDRESS:/shares/SHARE_NAME

The NFS protocol is not active by default. To activate it, go to **Dashboard > General Settings > File Sharing** (see [[..:dashboard:general-settings|]]). Select the configuration icon (pencil) to choose **Enable**.

<note important>**Important info:** All NFS shares are public and available to everyone on the network. See [[start|]] for details on public and private shares.</note>