Introduction to AFS
The early 1980s were an exciting time for Distributed Systems, the first of many for the sub-discipline. During that period, computing was becoming less expensive and ubiquitous -- personal computers (PCs) and individual Workstations were replacing and augmenting centralized systems. And, at the very same time networking technology was also exploding in capability, dropping in price, and becoming commerically viable. In a join research effort with IBM, CMU's campus became one of the first in the world to be "wired" and CMU established itself as a leader in the field, a reputation it continues to enjoy to this day.As part of that effort, known as the Andrew Project, the Andrew File System (AFS) was developed. It was, in effect, the first distributed file system, establishing many of the fundamentals used by all distributed file systems to this day. Leveraging the emerging capabilities, it allowed files to be accessed from anywhere on campus -- or even across the globe. It was originally productized by IBM as Transarc, but is now an Open Source project. To this day, it remains the primary campus-wide file system at CMU.
Interacting with AFS is, by design, very much like interacting with the local file system. But, there are some differences, especially when it comes to access controls and protection. The references below will help you get up to speed: