In computing, a file system can store and organize data files in order to make the data files easier to find and access. File systems may use a data storage device such as a hard disk or CD-ROM to maintain the physical location of computer files. A file system may provide access to data on a file server by acting as a client for a network protocol. In other words, file system can be a set of abstract data types that are implemented for the storage, hierarchical organization, manipulation, navigation, access, and retrieval of data.
A network file system is a file system that acts as a client for a remote file access protocol, providing access to files on a server. A network file system can be any computer file system that supports access of files over a computer network. A network file system may be distributed over clients, servers, and storage devices dispersed among the machines distributed in an intranet or over the internet. Service activity occurs across the network, and instead of a single centralized data repository, the system may have multiple and independent storage devices. In some network file systems, servers run on dedicated machines, while in others a machine can be both a server and a client. A network file system can be implemented as part of a distributed operating system, or by a software layer that manages the communication between conventional operating systems and file systems. A network file system may appear to its users to be a conventional, centralized file system. The multiplicity and dispersion of its servers and storage devices can be made invisible, and the client interface used by programs should not distinguish between local and remote files. It is up to the network file system to locate the files and to arrange for the transport of data.
A storage delivery network (SDN) may include a network file system that is used for scalable networking applications. SDNs can be composed of one or more storage nodes, each node containing one or more servers for storing data files and at least one transfer server for serving files and/or media over a network. In one embodiment, the transfer server and a storage server may be implemented by a single server.