protocol to search for files across network

[bilalb]

Hi
Hope you are all well...
Is there any protocol like NetBIOS for Windows which can help searching for files across a LAN...

say i have 3 files all named 1.txt on 3 machines on the LAN... and i want to know where these files are ..is there any protocol or a built in system call to search...
I am newbie to linux ..someone suggested using ssh to login into the system and then use "find" or "locate" to search for files... but what if i do not know which machine on the network has the particular file i am looking for....

I am sorry if this post is in the wrong category...
thanks for reading...

[hugortega]

Hi,

As far as I know, NetBIOS depends on the sharing settings on each computer over the network, I mean, if that isn't a problem for you (to configure the sharing directories on every computer) you can always mount remote drives/partitions/directories using NFS and, in your machine, use your favorite search tool to locate the files. Instead of NFS you can use SSHFS. Maybe SMB is another option, I don't know...

Greetings,

Hugo

[bilalb]

hi Hugo
so it means if i do not share my home directories that is say /usr1/home across the network on all the computers....i can not search files in it across the network ....so i have to share it first to search for files in it
hmm... very interesting ... i think ssh is the best solution...anyways i am a newbie as i said if i am wrong i am very sorry...

may i also conclude that if i am using netBios i can only search for files which are shared by a group of users not those files to which only i have access permission to..?even in windows??...
am i right or am i wrong... if i am wrong my apologizes to the people who worked on netBIOS.
thank you so much hugo...

[bilalb]

i mean does netbios help search for shared files only...??