# Data Mover client and server roles

**Data Mover can operate as a client or as a server**, adapting its functions to facilitate data exchanges. This dual functionality is vital for streamlining workflows and optimizing the data exchange process.

When **Data Mover operates as a client**, it engages with another entity to retrieve and deliver files. This client role involves initiating requests and managing the conditions needed to collect and deliver files, ensuring that the necessary data is available when needed.

To retrieve and deliver files, Data Mover requires the following configuration:

* [Configure the Actor. ](/data-mover-1.21/actors/configure-an-actor.md)This step defines the Actor's users, groups, VFS, and VFS path that Data Mover interacts with.
* [Configure the client connection.](/data-mover-1.21/transfer-protocols-and-connectors/client-connections.md) This step allows Data Mover to connect to the Actor and retrieve or deliver files. Different protocols are supported.  
* [Create the contracts. ](/data-mover-1.21/contracts/create-your-first-contract/create-an-input-contract.md)This step defines how the Actor and Data Mover interact and how data is processed within Data Mover. Primeur offers custom system templates to execute operations of sending and retrieval. 

Conversely, Data Mover can have the **role of the server**, where it receives files from partners or makes files accessible for other entities. In this role, Data Mover is responsible for establishing connections that define how files are sent and ensuring that the transfer processes are efficient and secure. 

To receive files from Actors and make them accessible to an Actor, the following configuration is required in Data Mover:

* [Configure the server connection](/data-mover-1.21/transfer-protocols-and-connectors/server-connections.md). This step allows the Actor to connect to Data Mover. Different protocols are supported. 
* [Configure the Actor.](/data-mover-1.21/file-routing/configure-the-environment-in-data-mover/configure-the-actor.md) This step defines the Actor's user, group, VFS, and VFS path that will access Data Mover to send or retrieve files.
* [Configure the connection contract.](/data-mover-1.21/contracts/create-your-first-contract/create-a-connection-contract.md) This step allows the Actor to access Data Mover to deliver or retrieve the files.  


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