[$] NFS: the early years

I recently had cause to reflect on the changes to the NFS (Network FileSystem) protocol over the years and found that it was a story worthtelling. It would be easy for such a story to become swamped by thedetails, as there are many of those, but one idea does stand out fromthe rest. The earliest version of NFS has been described as a"stateless" protocol, a term I still hear used occasionally. Much ofthe story of NFS follows the growth in the acknowledgment of, andsupport for, state. This article looks at the evolution of NFS (and itshandling of state) during theearly part of its life; a second installment will bring the story up to thepresent.