What is File Server?

A file server is a computer attached to a network with the objective of providing a location for shared disk access, which can include shared storage of computer files such as documents, sound files, photographs, movies, images, databases and can be accessed by the workstations that are attached to the same computer network. The term server highlights the role of the machine in the client–server scheme, where the clients are the workstations using the storage.

A file server is not intended to perform computational tasks, and does not run programs on behalf of its clients. It is designed primarily to enable the storage and retrieval of data while the computation is carried out by the work stations. File servers are commonly found in schools and offices, where users use a LAN to connect their client computers.