In file system protocols, which description is true for NFS in traditional terms?

• A. Stateful
• B. Stateless
• C. Synchronous
• D. Asynchronous

Answer: (B)

NFS is stateless in its traditional form. This means the server does not retain per-client information between requests. Each operation carries all the context the server needs—such as the file handle and the requested action—so the server can handle each request independently without remembering past interactions. This design makes the server simpler, easier to recover after failures, and easier to scale because there’s no need to track active sessions or open files across requests. If a client disconnects or the server restarts, the client just re-supplies the necessary context to continue. Note that some newer NFS capabilities, like locking, introduce stateful aspects, but the classic description emphasizes stateless interaction.