NFS is an abbreviation of the Network File System. It is a protocol of a distributed file system. This protocol was developed by the Sun Microsystems in the year of 1984.

It is an architecture of the client/server, which contains a client program, server program, and a protocol that helps for communication between the client and server.

It is that protocol which allows the users to access the data and files remotely over the network. Any user can easily implement the NFS protocol because it is an open standard. Any user can manipulate files as same as if they were on like other protocols. This protocol is also built on the ONC RPC system.

This protocol is mainly implemented on those computing environments where the centralized management of resources and data is critical. It uses the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) for accessing and delivering the data and files.

Network File System is a protocol that works on all the networks of IP-based. It is implemented in that client/server application in which the server of NFS manages the authorization, authentication, and clients. This protocol is used with Apple Mac OS, Unix, and Unix-like operating systems such as Solaris, Linux, FreeBSD, AIX.

Difference Between NFS and CIFS