The basic operations of the NOS involve management of the users, and management of the shared file system. In addition, they typically provide management of printing on the network, and generally provide a means of attaching additional application services, which then become available to the users. Utilities are included for the purpose of managing users, managing files and directories, monitoring the performance of the network and the server, backing up the network, and controlling printers.

Network operating systems are typically designed to work with a specific native protocol, although they generally have a means of dealing with other protocols as well. They vary in terms of the types of clients (DOS, Macintosh, UNIX, etc.) they can service, and the corresponding types of file systems they can accommodate.