What is OpenAFS?
OpenAFS is the open source release of the Andrew File System (AFS). It is a global, distributed file system used by schools and scientific laboratories around the world. Indiana University's data storage service, the Research File System (RFS), is based on OpenAFS.
Note: To keep pace with the growing needs of Indiana University researchers, Research File System (RFS) storage will be migrating in the near future from OpenAFS to a new technology from DataDirect Networks, Inc. (DDN), based on the General Parallel File System (GPFS). For more, see Information about upcoming changes to the Research File System at IU.
Each OpenAFS site has its own OpenAFS cell, which is comparable to
a Windows domain. OpenAFS cells are usually named after the
institution or research group administering it. For example, CERN's
OpenAFS cell is called cern.ch, and Argonne National
Laboratory's OpenAFS cell is called anl.gov. IU's OpenAFS
cell is called IU.EDU.
OpenAFS allows sharing of disk space among hosts by letting all AFS
participants on the Internet share one logical file space. The root
level directory is /afs, with Internet domains such as
indiana.edu descending from there. For example,
/afs/umich.edu/... is a possible directory. OpenAFS
directories worldwide are available to users with access to hosts with
an OpenAFS client installed.
Last modified on November 09, 2012.







