ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Network block device

Imagine you have a lot of toys that you want to play with, but they are too many to carry at once. So, you put them all in a big toy box and then carry the box around. This way, you can access all your toys by opening the box and taking them out one by one as you need them.

In the same way, computers need to store and access large amounts of data. However, sometimes, the data is too big to fit on a single computer or storage device. So, one way to solve this problem is to connect multiple computers or storage devices together to create a bigger storage space. This is known as a network.

Now, when you need to access data on a network, you don't want to have to manually search through all the different computers and storage devices to find what you need. That would be like searching through your toy box for a single toy - it would take a long time and be very tedious.

That's where the Network Block Device (NBD) comes in. It's like a magic wand that makes all the computers and storage devices on the network appear as if they were a single giant storage device. This way, you can access all the data you need from one place, just like opening your toy box and taking out the toys you want.

To use the NBD, you need to have a program on your computer that knows how to communicate with it. When you want to access data from the network, you tell the program what you want, and the program sends a request to the NBD.

The NBD then sends the request to the appropriate computer or storage device on the network, and that device sends back the data you need. The NBD takes care of all the communication between your computer and the other computers and storage devices on the network, so you can access the data you need quickly and easily.

In summary, a Network Block Device is a tool that makes it easier to access data on a network by presenting all the connected computers and storage devices as if they were one big storage space. It acts as a mediator between your computer and the other devices on the network, allowing you to access the data you need quickly and easily.