WebNFS (original) (raw)

WebNFS is an extension to the Network File System (NFS) for allowing clients to access a file system over the internet using a simplified, firewall-friendly protocol. WebNFS was developed to give Java applets and other internet enabled applications a way of accessing filesystem services over the internet. While NFS provides applications on Unix with full filesystem semantics, not all of these might be needed in a distributed, read-only web environment. Conversely, access restrictions—such as requiring the use of restricted ports for originating requests—normally used in closed environments are not usually applicable in public distributed environments.