NFS Client Changes For Linux 5.15 Bring Connection Sharing, Better Responsiveness

While Linux 5.15 has added KSMBD as an SMB3 in-kernel file server, the NFS code within the Linux kernel continues advancing as well for network file sharing needs. With NFS in Linux 5.15 are a few notable improvements.

The NFS client changes were sent out on Thursday for Linux 5.15 and includes better client responsiveness for when the server isn't replying. But the main notable addition now is support for connection sharing between servers with multiple NICs. As part of this is a new "max_connect" mount option for controlling the number of transports that the client can establish with a distinct address. The default max_connect value is 1 but can allow up to 16 connections, hardware permitting.

The NFS client changes for Linux 5.15 also include a number of fixes and other low-level enhancements. More details on the NFS client work this cycle via this pull request.