Storage exports — sharing directories between nodes

The platform provides a built-in panel to share directories between containers under the same account. You configure the export from the storage container — the source — and the matching mount on the target nodes is created for you automatically. You do not need to touch /etc/exports or wire up firewall rules; the platform handles both sides.

This page covers exporting from a container in the dashboard. For exports to clients outside the account, see the external NFS server configuration page — that case requires manual configuration on both ends.

Exporting a directory

1. Open the configuration manager for the container that holds the files (the storage side), switch to the Exports section, and click Export in the top toolbar.

2. The export dialog opens. Fill in the following:

   • From NFS — pick the node within the storage layer that owns the data.
   • Path — absolute path to the folder you want to export. You can type it or pick from the favorites list.
   • To Container(s) — target layer in the dashboard. The list shows every layer in every environment on the account, so you can pick a cross-environment target.
   • Path — the client-side path where the export will appear on the target nodes.
   • Mount to all nodes — when on, the export is mounted on every node of the target layer, including nodes added later. When off, the export goes to one specific node.
   • Read Only — when on, the client gets read-only access. When off, read-write.

3. Click Add. The export appears in the list, and the matching mount point is set up on the target side without any additional step.

The same dialog is reachable from the file manager: right-click a folder, pick Export, and the same form opens prefilled with that path.

Managing existing exports

The Exports section lists every directory shared from this container to nodes on the same account. (External exports are not surfaced here — they live in /etc/exports directly.) For each record:

• Expand the row to see the client nodes that mount it.
• Name shows the stack name and ID of the mounting node. Hover for the environment alias.
• Client Path is where the data is reachable on the client side.
• Permission is rw for read-write, ro for read-only.

The toolbar above the list offers:

• Export — open the dialog described above.
• Unmount — stop sharing this directory with the selected client. The corresponding mount on the client side is removed.
• Configuration — open /etc/exports in the configuration manager. You only need to edit this file directly for external exports; for in-account shares, the platform writes it for you.
• Refresh — re-read the export list.

Permission rules

The export model is layered:

• The Read Only switch at export time sets the NFS-level permission for that share. Toggling it later requires recreating the export.
• The Unix ownership of the exported folder still applies. If you grant read-write but the folder is owned by root:root and the client runs as jelastic, writes will fail with EACCES. Either change the folder owner on the storage side (chown {uid}:{gid} {path}) or run the client process as a user that has write permission on the source.
• Mounting to all nodes is sticky — nodes added later inherit the mount. If you want a one-off mount, leave that switch off and explicitly pick the target node.

Things to know

• NFS shares do not work with sleeping environments or during live migration. If a client is asleep when an export is created, the mount activates on wake.
• Regular files cannot be exported — only directories.
• The mounted directory cannot start with /proc, /dev, /sys, /run, or be equal to /, /bin, /lib, /lib64, /lib32, /usr, /usr/bin, /usr/sbin, /usr/lib, or /usr/lib64. This list may vary by region.

Where to go from here

• Mount points — the other side of the same operation, initiated from the client container.
• Dedicated storage container — why a Shared Storage Container is usually the right place to host shared data.
• External NFS server configuration — exporting beyond the account boundary.