Distributed file systems: focus on Andrew File System/Distributed File Service (AFS/DFS)

Currently, there is a move away from huge, monolithic mainframe computers to smaller, individual workstations. This move requires that data and programs be shared between individual users on the same computer as well as across machines on a local area network (LAN) or even on a wide area network (WAN). A popular distributed file system is Transarc's Andrew File System (AFS), the precursor of the Open Software Foundation's (OSF) Distributed File Service (DFS), part of OSF's Distributed Computing Environment. This paper compares AFS and DFS with other successful distributed file systems, discussing clients and file servers, data cache (cache consistency and authentication), file system topology, access rights, privileged programs, critical data, and authentication in long-running batch jobs.<
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