Distributed services with OpenAFS

Organizations that run their own IT infrastructure on open-source software and standard hardware face three recurring needs: a central authentication service, a shared store of user information, and a way for people to reach their personal files from any location. This book shows how two established technologies meet those needs. Kerberos, an industry-standard protocol, handles authentication, and OpenAFS, a distributed file system first developed at CMU, provides access to files. The file system is used at universities such as MIT and Stanford and at research institutions such as CERN.

The book is written for system architects and administrators who must choose and build an enterprise IT infrastructure. It also addresses advanced UNIX users who want to move beyond isolated workstations and understand the shift to global administration and the challenges that come with it.

The content is a step-by-step guide, supported by detailed technical background drawn from the author's experience setting up an AFS cell in his university's computer science and engineering department. Its main focus is on UNIX-based services, with particular attention to the underlying OpenAFS file system.

The author presents the book as a companion to a book by Richard Campbell, which he describes as the only currently available title on the subject and one that reflects the current state of implementation.