Drive mapping


Drive mapping is how operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, associate a local drive letter with a shared storage area to another computer over a network. After a drive has been mapped, a software application on a client's computer can read and write files from the shared storage area by accessing that drive, just as if that drive represented a local physical hard disk drive.

Drive mapping

Mapped Drives are hard drives which are always represented by names, letter, or number and they are often followed by additional strings of data, directory tree branches, or alternate level separated by a "\" symbol. Drive mapping is used to locate directories, files or objects, and programs or apps, and is needed by end users, administrators, and various other operators or groups.
Mapped drives are usually assigned a letter of the alphabet after the first few taken, such as A:\, B:\, C:\, and D:\. Then, with the drive and/or directory mapped, they can be entered into the necessary address bar/location and displayed as in the following:
Example 1:
C:\level\next level\following level
or
C:\BOI60471CL\Shared Documents\Multi-Media Dept
The preceding location may reach something like a company's multi-media department's database, which logically is represented with the entire string "C:\BDB60471CL\Shared Documents\Multi-Media Dept".
Mapping a drive can be complicated for a complex system. Network mapped drives are available only when the host computer is also available : it is a requirement for use of drives on a host. All data on various mapped drives will have certain permissions set and the user will need the particular security authorizations to access it.
Drive mapping over LAN usually uses the SMB protocol on Windows or NFS protocol on Unix/Linux; Drive mapping over the Internet usually uses the WebDAV protocol. WebDAV Drive mapping is supported on Windows, Mac, and Linux.