Anders Johansson wrote:
Perhaps someone could explain what are the advantages (if any) of using a file server.
The word server properly only refers to the service provided, not to any kind of machinery. So your "shared folder" is a file server, as it serves files.
Indeed In enterprise settings it's common for machines to be specialized, and optimized for a certain job. Mail servers, database servers, web servers, and so on. If a server exists mainly to share files, then it's a file server. In small businesses, it's common for one machine to serve multiple purposes. And here at home, one machine serves mail, does domain authentication, hosts databases, runs Apache, contains my svn repositories, AND shares a bunch of directories with the other machines in the network via nfs and samba. (Our calendars, shared documents, music files, videos, DejaClick macros, torrents, and so on, are available to any of our computers.) So that one machine is indeed a file server, among its many other tasks. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org