Should I replace sshfs with NFS? [closed]

Update: I posted this answer in 2013 and it seems that SSHFS has become a reliable network file system. As an additional bonus, if you already have SSH installed, it is easy to set up.

My advice today would be:

1. If you have a heterogeneous Windows/Linux environment, go for CIFS
2. If you have a Linux-only environment, give SSHFS a try, and, it fits your needs, stick to it. Otherwise use NFS

Check this link shared by Roc W. in the comments for benchmarks: https://blog.ja-ke.tech/2019/08/27/nas-performance-sshfs-nfs-smb.html

I've used SSHFS in a corporate environment in the past and it is, in my experience, unreliable under heavy load and best suited for casual use.

If you need a heavy duty network filesystem go for NFS or CIFS (Samba). You will have to trade encryption for stability, though, unless you use NFSv4, which supports encryption.

So yes, you could use NFSv4 as a replacement which would both provide better performance under heavy load and encryption. This document at ubuntu.com explains how to set it up.