| Network Block Device (TCP version) | |
| What is it: With this compiled in the kernel (or as a module), Linux | |
| can use a remote server as one of its block devices. So every time | |
| the client computer wants to read, e.g., /dev/nb0, it sends a | |
| request over TCP to the server, which will reply with the data read. | |
| This can be used for stations with low disk space (or even diskless) | |
| to borrow disk space from another computer. | |
| Unlike NFS, it is possible to put any filesystem on it, etc. | |
| For more information, or to download the nbd-client and nbd-server | |
| tools, go to http://nbd.sf.net/. | |
| The nbd kernel module need only be installed on the client | |
| system, as the nbd-server is completely in userspace. In fact, | |
| the nbd-server has been successfully ported to other operating | |
| systems, including Windows. |