From Protocol to Distributed File System
Explore how a network file system transforms protocol messages into file system operations across client and server. Understand client-side tracking of open files, mapping file descriptors, and how servers handle requests without maintaining state. Learn the process of file reading, pathname traversal through LOOKUP requests, and the importance of stateless design for efficient crash recovery in distributed file systems.
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Hopefully, you are now getting some sense of how this protocol is turned into a file system across the client-side file system and the file server. The client-side file system tracks open files and generally translates application requests into the relevant set of protocol messages. The server simply responds to protocol messages, each of which contains all information needed to complete the request.