Understanding SMB/CIFS

Abstract

This book describes Samba, a file- and printer-sharing tool for Unix and Unix-like operating systems (OSs). (In practice, Samba is also available on some OSs that are rather remote from the Unix mold, such as VMS and OS/2.) Samba is an independent implementation of the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol, which is also known as the Common Internet File System (CIFS). SMB/CIFS is common on Windows-dominated networks, but you can use it even between Unix and Unix-like systems. If you’re a Unix administrator who’s familiar with Unix but not skilled with Windows, chances are certain SMB/CIFS features will seem strange. Even if you’re a Windows administrator, you may not fully understand all of the important SMB/CIFS features. This chapter addresses these issues by describing SMB/CIFS—why it exists, how it compares to other file- and printer-sharing protocols, what the important SMB/CIFS features are, and what components exist on an SMB/CIFS network. The next chapter expands on these issues and ties them explicitly to Samba, describing the core components of Samba. Together, these first two chapters provide the necessary background information for understanding Samba.KeywordsTransmission Control ProtocolInternet ProtocolUser Datagram ProtocolDomain Name SystemInternet Protocol AddressThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.