Managing Systems and Workgroups: A Guide for HP-UX System Administrators

Planning a Workgroup
Choosing a File-Sharing Model
Chapter 256
Choosing a File-Sharing Model
If you are about to set up a new workgroup, or make large changes to an
existing one, you must first decide how you will distribute the computing
resources among the users. The biggest of these decisions concerns how
users will share files and applications. Will they:
• Log in to the system(s) on which the files and applications reside?
(“Multiuser Model” on page 56)
• Boot from a remote system and store shared data remotely? (“NFS
Diskless Model” on page 57)
• Boot from their local disk, but store shared files and applications
remotely? (“Client-Server Model” on page 59)
The answer is probably some combination of the above, and could
possibly be all of the above. The sections that follow are intended to help
you explore each model and choose a predominant one.
Multiuser Model
A multiuser system is a system to which a number of users log in to do
their work, using a terminal directly connected to the system, or a
terminal emulator on a remote system connected by a modem or LAN.
• “Advantages” on page 56
• “Disadvantages” on page 57
• “Summary” on page 57
Advantages • May be the best use of the computing resources of a large system.
See “Distributing Applications” on page 63
• Simplest model:.
— Only one system to configure, back up and maintain.
— No operating-system co-existence issues.
— Simplest possible hardware/OS/application matrix.
• May reduce LAN traffic.