computer science

Wide area file services

Wide area file services is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Wide area file services rather than just read about it. In short: Wide area file services (WAFS) products allow remote office users to access and share files globally at LAN speeds over the WAN. Distributed enterprises that deploy WAFS solutions are able to consolidate storage to corporate datacenters, eliminating the need to back up and manage data that previously resided in their remote offices.

Key takeaways

Wide area file services belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Wide area file services to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Wide area file services from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Wide area file services (WAFS) products allow remote office users to access and share files globally at LAN speeds over the WAN. Distributed enterprises that deploy WAFS solutions are able to consolidate storage to corporate datacenters, eliminating the need to back up and manage data that previously resided in their remote offices. WAFS uses techniques such as SMB and MAPI protocol optimization, data compression, and sometimes storing recurrent data patterns in a local cache. WAFS is a subset of WAN optimization, which also caches SSL Intranet as well as dynamic web page content and multimedia traffic generated by educational technology, to accelerate a greater percentage of WAN traffic. The term was coined by Brad O'Neill of the analyst firm Taneja Group in a May 2004 article for InfoStor magazine.

References

External links "WAFS reins in remote office backup"

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wide area file services

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wide area file services claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Wide area file services before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Wide area file services ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Wide area file services

In research: Wide area file services appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Wide area file services in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Wide area file services is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Computer network stubs, Wide area networks, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wide area file services outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Wide area file services” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Wide area file services in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wide area file services means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Wide area file services out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wide area file services in simple terms?

Why does Wide area file services matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Wide area file services?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Wide area file services.