The Cambridge File Server

In a local area network such as the Cambridge ring [Wilkes79a], one of the principal benefits to be gained is the centralisation of expensive resources such as discs. Rather than each processor having a private disc~ one or more computers can provide a storage service for all others on the network. The Cambridge File Server, a program controlling a dedicated minicomputer and 150 megabytes of disc storage, is an attempt to create a general storage service for the ring, and has been used to implement both filing systems and virtual memory systems in computers on the ring. This has been done for the CAP computer [Wilkes79b] and is described in a companion article [Dellar80].