AFS cells

Cells are composed of two types of machines: fileserver and client. Fileservers are machines that typically store and control the files. A client machine accesses the files. This distinction is important from a technical point of view, but you don't have to worry about it in your day-to-day use of the system. If the network connection between your client machine and the fileserver is disrupted, you may see the message "Lost contact with fileserver" or "Connection timed out." In that case, a portion of your AFS files may be temporarily unavailable.