Hardware and software that together provide file-handling and storage functions for multiple users on a local area network. The most common choices for file server software are sun microsystems' network file system for unix and novell netware for ibm pc compatibles. There is also a version of NFS for PCs called pc-nfs. Storing files on a file server saves having multiple copies stored on individual computers, thus economising on disk space and also makes administrating and updating the files easier.