Community: First Mount

After installing the Community server, you are ready to mount flexFS on client hosts. The free server provides a self-contained installer script that downloads the mount client, initializes credentials, creates an fstab entry, and mounts the filesystem in a single command.

Prerequisites

On the client host:

• Linux (amd64 or arm64)
• Root access
• curl installed
• Network access to the free server (default: port 443) and metadata server (default: port 8443)
• Network access to the object storage endpoint

The installer script installs FUSE3 automatically if neither fusermount3 nor fusermount is present.

One-Command Install

The Community installer prints the mount command at the end of setup. It follows this pattern:

curl -fksSL https://<admin-addr>/deploy/install-mount.sh | sudo bash -s <mount-point>

For example:

curl -fksSL https://10.0.1.50:443/deploy/install-mount.sh | sudo bash -s /mnt/flexfs/free

Note

Unlike the Enterprise edition, the Community mount command only takes a mount point — no volume token argument. The volume token is embedded in the deploy script by the free server, since there is only one volume and one token.

Note

If the free server runs with --noSSL, use http:// instead of https://; the script then passes --noAdminSSL to init creds and adds noAdminSSL to the fstab mount options.

What the Script Does

The deploy script (/deploy/install-mount.sh) is served by the free server and executes the following steps:

1. Validates arguments — requires a mount point

2. Checks for root — exits if not running as uid 0

3. Detects platform — determines linux/amd64 or linux/arm64 from uname -m

4. Installs FUSE if neither fusermount3 nor fusermount is found, using the system package manager (apt-get, dnf, or yum). If yum cannot find the fuse3 package, the script enables the EPEL repository, leaves it enabled, and retries.

5. Stops any existing mount at the specified mount point and removes the old fstab entry if present

6. Downloads mount.flexfs from the free server’s deploy endpoint to /sbin/mount.flexfs and sets it executable. SELinux contexts are restored if applicable.

7. Verifies the binary by running mount.flexfs version

8. Initializes credentials by contacting the free server:

   mount.flexfs init creds \
     --adminAddr <admin-addr> \
     --token <volume-token> \
     --force

   The volume token is pre-filled by the server. This step checks the token with the free server and writes the server address and volume token to a local credential file at ~root/.flexfs/mount/creds/free. The volume’s configuration (metadata server address, block store details) is fetched from the free server each time the volume mounts.

9. Creates an fstab entry and mounts the filesystem:

   mount.flexfs init fstab free <mount-point> --now --force

   The --now flag mounts the filesystem immediately after writing the fstab entry.

Manual Installation

If you prefer to run each step separately, run the individual commands below as root, as the script does (writing to /sbin and init fstab require it). To mount as another user instead, place the binary where that user can run it, then run init creds and mount.flexfs start as that user (see Mounting without root).

Download the mount client

curl -fksSL https://<admin-addr>/deploy/production/v1.9.x/linux/amd64/mount.flexfs \
  -o /sbin/mount.flexfs
chmod 755 /sbin/mount.flexfs

Retrieve the volume token

On the server host, read the token from the credential file:

sudo grep '^volumeToken' /root/.flexfs/free/creds

Initialize credentials on the client

mount.flexfs init creds \
  --adminAddr <admin-addr> \
  --token <volume-token> \
  --force

Create fstab entry

mount.flexfs init fstab free /mnt/flexfs/free --force

Mount

mount /mnt/flexfs/free

Or mount directly without fstab:

mount.flexfs start free /mnt/flexfs/free

Verify the Mount

After mounting, verify with:

# Check the mount is active
mountpoint /mnt/flexfs/free

# List the filesystem
ls -la /mnt/flexfs/free

# Write a test file
echo "hello flexFS" > /mnt/flexfs/free/test.txt
cat /mnt/flexfs/free/test.txt

# Check disk usage
df -h /mnt/flexfs/free

Mounting on Additional Hosts

The same curl command can be run on as many client hosts as needed. Every host will mount the same free volume using the same token. All mounts share a single consistent view of the filesystem.

# Run on each client host:
curl -fksSL https://10.0.1.50:443/deploy/install-mount.sh | sudo bash -s /mnt/flexfs/free

Auto-Updates

Once mounted, the mount client periodically checks the free server for newer versions of mount.flexfs. When an update is available, it downloads the new binary and performs a live handoff of the FUSE session — no unmount or downtime required. See Auto-Update for details.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	Resolution
Error: this script must be run as root	Not running as root	Use sudo bash
Error: unsupported architecture	Not amd64 or arm64	FlexFS only supports 64-bit Linux
Error: unable to install FUSE or Error: unable to install fuse3	No supported package manager, or no repository provides fuse3	Install FUSE3 manually (see Prerequisites)
Error: mount.flexfs failed to execute	Binary incompatible with host	Verify platform matches (uname -m)
Error: invalid volume token: unauthorized	The free server does not recognize the token in the script	Download the script again from the free server
Error: failed to get volume settings: ... (after repeated retries)	Cannot reach the free server	Check network access to the free server port
Error: the admin server refused the request, not the token (status N); check its access rules for this host	The free server’s access rules block this host	Review the free server’s access rules
Mount hangs or times out	Metadata server unreachable	Check network access to the metadata server port

Next Steps

• Mount Options — customize caching, performance, and security settings
• fstab Integration — details on the fstab line format and systemd mount directives
• Compare Editions — see what Enterprise adds over Community