Distributed File System (DFS)

Distributed File System (DFS) can define as a set of client and server services that allow an organization using Microsoft Windows servers to organize many distributed Server Message Block (SMB) file shares into a distributed file system. So it stores files on one or more computers called servers and makes them accessible to other computers called clients, where they appear as normal files. In the same time it  provides location transparency and redundancy to improve data availability in the face of failure or heavy load by allowing shares in multiple different locations to be logically grouped under one folder or Distributed File System (DFS)  root.

This service that allows system administrators to organize distributed network shares into a logical namespace by  enabling users to access files without specifying their physical location and providing load sharing across network shares. In the same time these file systems support the same kind of sharing when the files are physically dispersed among several computers.

  

Characteristics

We can identify different types of Distributed File System (DFS) characteristics as follows,

• The permissions of shared folders that are part of the Distributed File System (DFS are still the same.
• Shares with important information can be replicated to several servers providing fault tolerance.
• The Distributed File System (DFS  root must be created first.