Description of File Servers
v A File Server is a computer attached to a network that has the primary purpose of providing a location for the shared storage of information (such as documents, sound files, photographs, movies, images, databases, et cetera) that can be accessed by the workstations that are attached to the network. As distinguished from Timesharing or a Mainframe (where a central computer provides calculation resources for “dumb” terminals) a File Server is designed primarily to enable the rapid storage and retrieval of data where the heavy computation is provided by the workstations.
v File servers may also be categorized by the method of access: remote servers are frequently accessed by FTP (they run an FTP Server) or by HTTP (they run a Web Server). A single File serving computer may be accessible by multiple means: it may run an FTP server, an HTTP server, a database server, and a print spool.
v The servers do their work only on request from the nodes. The server cannot and does not behave arbitrarily on its own.
v File servers generally offer some form of system security to limit access to files to specific users or groups.
v Since the crucial function of a file server is storage, hardware has been developed to operate multiple disk drives together as a team, forming a disk array.
Types of File Servers
A dedicated file server
v A dedicated server is generally designed specifically for use as a file server, with workstations attached for reading and writing files and databases.
A non-dedicated file server
v A workstation may share files with other workstations on the network directly however by turning on its “Server” service and then by creating a “Share” — this process creates a non-dedicated file server that is primarily being used as a workstation.
