A major component of DCE. It is OSF's extended version of the Andrew File System (AFS) from Transarc. DFS is interoperable with other file systems. "cd/:" changes you to the directory at the top of your cell; "cd/..." changes you to the global root.
A file system in which different pieces of files are contained in multiple file servers in multiple locations throughout a given network. The system maintains all storage information, and ensures that a distributed file appears transparently to the user as one single and whole file.