Deciding Between Direct and Indirect Automounts

Advantage: You can view the contents of a direct-mounted directory using the ls command. If the contents are not currently mounted, the ls command mounts them.

Advantage: AutoFS enables you to view the available mount-points for indirect maps without actually mounting each filesystem when browsability is enabled by default.

Advantage: Direct-mounted automounted directories can export the same parent directory with local, or standard-mounted files and directories.

Disadvantage: An indirect map hides any local, standard-mounted, or direct-mounted files or directories under the mount-point for the map.

Disadvantage: If you add or remove mounts in a direct map, or if you change the local mount-point for an existing mount in a direct map, you must force AutoFS to reread its maps.

Advantage: If you modify an indirect map, AutoFS will view the changes the next time it mounts the directory. You need not force AutoFS to reread its maps.

Disadvantage: When automount reads a direct map, it creates an entry for each automounted directory in the internal mount table, /etc/mnttab. This can cause the mount table to become very large.

Advantage: When automount reads an indirect map, it creates only one entry for the entire map in the internal mount table, /etc/mnttab. Additional entries are created when the directories are actually mounted. The mount table takes up no more space than necessary, because only mounted directories appear in it.