In computing, a
file server (or
fileserver) is a computer attached to a network that has the primary purpose of providing a location for
shared disk access, i.e. shared storage of computer files (such as documents, sound files, photographs, movies, images, databases, etc.) that 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 workstations.