A server never knows whether the files it shares are accessed through mount or automount. Nothing, therefore, needs to be done to a server to run the automounter.
By convention, all automounter maps should reside in the /etc directory. They can be created using any supported text editor.
A client, however, needs special files for the automounter. Rather than consulting /etc/vfstab, it consults one or more map files (of which there are three types) identified on the command line. See ``Automounter map types'' for more information on the map types.
Automounter maps can be modified at any time. However, before doing so, refer to ``Modifying maps''.