3.3.2 File and Printer Sharing

• Files

• Printers

Files and printers are resources of the computer that are shared in a networking environment, allowing many users to access one drive, file, or printer remotely.

Files

Files may be shared between applications, such as when a graph created in Excel is linked into a Word document. Files may also be shared between users over a network. But, some files will need to be kept private; other users should not be able to access them. To accomplish this, the operating system defines a set ofpermissions for a file or directory. These permissions, also called Access Control Lists (ACLs), determine who can read, write, or execute the file. Read accessallows the user to read the file. Write access allows a user to modify or delete the file. Execute access allows the user to perform special system operations—such as viewing the contents of a directory or executing a program. In Microsoft Windows, you can examine a file's permissions by right-clicking the file icon, clickingProperties on the shortcut menu that appears, and then clicking the Security tab.

Printers

Printers are shared between applications, between users, and even between machines. When a file is to be printed, it is handed off to a part of the operating system called a print server that maintains a queue of print requests. The server processes requests one at a time. As requests come in, they are stored on disk, in a process known as spooling. ("Spool" stands for Simultaneous Peripheral Operation Online). Spooling allows the process issuing the print request to go on to other things; it does not have to wait for the document to complete printing. If the print server can communicate over a network, then print requests can be accepted from other machines. A typical example is a computer lab where all the computers share a single print server. This is more efficient than installing a separate printer on each machine.

Assessments: Multiple-Choice Quiz 10

3.4 File Systems

A file system is an abstraction for organizing data on mass storage media such as hard drives, floppy disks, and optical disks. The file systems are managed by the operating system of a computer. In this section, you will learn about how files are organized on a Windows operating system, as well as how file systems work.

Reading Sequence: 3.4.1 File Organization. Learning Goal: Understand the organization of a hierarchical file system. Parsons/Oja, Chapter 4-Sections D and C. Learning Goal: Understand how files are organized into folders (also called directories), how users can browse through those folders using a file manager program of an application or the operating system, and how files and folders are physically stored.  Parsons/Oja, Chapter 4-Lab B: "Working with Windows Explorer". Learning Goal: Gain practical experience using file management tools.  3.4.2 File Allocation Table and NT File System. Learning Goal:Obtain knowledge of how file systems work.

                          

Assessments: Multiple-Choice Quiz 11