network file system (NFS)

The Network File System (NFS) was defined by Sun Microsystems and developed for workgroups. By disclosing the specifications, this file system could be implemented by many manufacturers and developed into a de facto standard.

The NFS file system is supplied as an extension of the operating system and is available not only for Unix but also for MS- DOS, Virtual Memory System( VMS), Multiple Virtual Storage( MVS), etc. The TCP/ IP protocols are used as transportprotocols. NFS enables the mapping of file systems of remote computers to local file systems ("mounting"). This enables access to these remote file systems in the various NFS server systems. In addition to file systems, printers can also be made accessible to other users over the network. A network printer can be transparently accessed from an application using NFS if it has been "mounted" by the local device.

Since the remote file system can be addressed like a local one, programs stored in these file systems can also be called like local programs. These programs are loaded by the remote file system over the network and stored in the working memory of the local computer. The Network File System is mainly used in heterogeneous networks. The NFS system, which was developed for workgroups, reaches its limits with large numbers of participants.

The first version of the NFS protocol is described in RFC 1094 from 1989, version 3 in RFC 1813.