Distributed File Systems (dfs)

Charter

Chair(s):
     Peter Honeyman, honey@citi.umich.edu

Mailing Lists:
     General Discussion:  dfs-wg@citi.umich.edu
     To Subscribe:  dfs-wg-request@citi.umich.edu
     Archive:

Description of Working Group:

     Trans- and inter-continental distributed file systems are upon
     us.  The consequences to the Internet of distributed file
     system protocol design and implementation decisions are
     sufficiently dire that we need to investigate whether the
     protocols being deployed are really suitable for use on the
     Internet.  There's some evidence that the opposite is true,
     e.g., some DFS protocols don't checksum their data, don't use
     reasonable MTUs, don't offer credible authentication or
     authorization services, don't attempt to avoid congestion, etc.
     Accordingly, a Working Group on DFS has been formed by the
     IETF. The Working Group will attempt to define guidelines for
     ways that distributed file systems should make use of the
     network, and to consider whether any existing distributed file
     systems are appropriate candidates for Internet
     standardization.  The Working Group will also take a look at
     the various file system protocols to see whether they make data
     more vulnerable.  This is a problem that is especially severe
     for Internet users, and a place where the IETF may wish to
     exert some influence, both on vendor offerings and user
     expectations.

Goals and Milestones:

May 1990   Generate an RFC with guidelines that define appropriate
           behavior of distributed file systems in an internet
           environment.



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