Comment 5 for bug 791588

> I'm using it this way myself without any trouble.

If you have already installed nfs-kernel-server on your system, you are right: dpkg installs several directories under /var/lib/nfs/rpc_pipefs with that package, also the "nfs" directory, needed for idmapd (as server AND client). But if you only install nfs-common, idmapd won't start until you mkdir /var/lib/nfs/rpc_pipefs/nfs by hand. Promise! That's the only way I can make idmapd run on a nfs-client-only-machine with only nfs-common installed, otherwise it fails - this is prooven to work on all my Ubuntu-machines, even on the netbook: idmapd does run, now (- although I get the same funny nonsense about the owners and groups in nautilus and with ls -l in the terminal on the netbook like before. But this is only on the netbook and it seems to be another issue. It may have nothing to do with idmapd on the nfs-client.)

To be more precise: idmapd now is running automatically on startup (no need for manual work), just like configured in /etc/default/nfs-common and just like expected - but that is AFTER I created the needed /var/lib/nfs/rpc_pipefs/nfs directory by hand, which does not exist after a clean Ubuntu 11.04 install with just nfs-common installed.

Hope, that was clear, now! :)

Greets!
Mitsch