%META:TOPICINFO{author="ChrisBartram" date="1170390739" format="1.1" version="1.2"}%
%META:TOPICPARENT{name="Hp3000FileSharing"}%
---+ Remote File Access(RFA) on the HP3000

RFA was a part of the NS/3000 (Network Services) package for HP3000s. It allows a program to open files on other (networked) HP3000s as if they were local files. Simple file equates can specify 
<pre>
:FILE x=y;DEV=nodename#disc
</pre>
 or fopen could be passed "environmentname#filename" to open files, after which all read/write/update actions could be performed as if the files were local. Even Image databases could be accessed this way, and there is even a facility to create what looks like a local database, but which in reality is a pointer to a database on another system. Applications could run without modification on what appeared to be a local database which actually accessing a database on another system. Neat, though often slow because of significant overhead built into the file system. (This feature is called "RDBA" and is a subset of RFA.) 


-- Main.ChrisBartram - 09 Jun 2006