Samba is a file-sharing protocol that supports a variety of *nix operating systems. Its developer, Visuality Systems, also provides support for Java platforms, Windows, iOS, and real-time operating systems such as ThreadX and VxWorks. The company takes a customer-driven approach to its development and provides OEM-friendly commercial licensing. It also incorporates Microsoft Patents in its license agreement. This article is a general introduction to Samba.
CIFS
CIFS for SMB allows file sharing across networks and workgroups. The CIFS protocol uses a negotiation process to identify the user, group, and system ID of the remote machine. Authentication is usually performed through the Active Directory on a modern computer, but in some cases the authentication is handled directly by the CIFS protocol. CIFS for SMB provides an option to manage authentication in Windows' file system, which can be useful for secure network access.
When CIFS was first released, it seemed promising. Microsoft wanted to develop a standard SMB protocol, and bypass NetBIOS entirely. However, because the protocol is not suitable for high-latency networks, it proved to be problematic. Because of frequent changes by Microsoft, CIFS has earned a bad reputation. Despite its benefits, CIFS for SMB has experienced some serious problems. While it does offer several security features, its major drawback is that it requires high-speed network connections.
Although CIFS for SMB is a more secure version of SMB, most NAS servers support it. CIFS for SMB was not widely supported until Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" dropped it. However, most devices, including printers and NASs, could support SMB 2.0. Microsoft has also introduced SMB 2.1 in Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2, as well as SMB 3 in Windows 8.
SMB introduces the notion of "durable file handles" that allows connections to survive network interruptions. Wireless networks often experience brief outages. Using durable file handles enables clients to transmit files without having to re-negotiate a new session. The advantages of using CIFS for SMB are obvious. You can use SMB to share files and directories with other computers, while SMB is a secure network protocol.
NFS
SMB is the most commonly used file-sharing protocol, but it is not scalable enough to be a good option for large businesses. If you're looking for a flexible file sharing solution, NFS is a good choice. SMB supports both Windows and Linux operating systems. It supports local and remote file sharing, and it supports a variety of client types. This article will discuss some of the pros and cons of using NFS for SMB.
The main disadvantage of NFS compared to SMB is performance. Its read transaction rate is much lower than SMB's. However, it's faster for write transactions. In addition, NFS doesn't support fast find files. It also doesn't support printer browsing, which can be useful when sharing files. SMB uses stateful protocols to ensure security of files, while NFS doesn't. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, and it's important to choose the right one for your organization.
As the name suggests, SMB provides better performance when sharing larger files, but it's less reliable than NFS. Both protocols can be used to share server volumes across different platforms. In addition to this, you should choose an open-source solution that allows you to share files without worrying about compatibility. In addition, NFS and SMB are both cross-platform, so you can access files from any operating system. Of course, reliability and security are top concerns when sharing files.
Network File System is an open protocol for sharing files across networks, and it allows anyone to use it. NFS is widely used on Unix-like operating systems. Samba, on the other hand, only works with Windows systems. While both protocols can share files, NFS requires AppleDouble files to share Apple extended documents, SMB works with no additional files. NFS doesn't require a remote server administration app, while SMB supports ACL files.
NTLM
NTLM for SMS is a common security protocol used to authenticate client connections to a network. To enable it, you must install a tool called Elevated Rights-Deployment tool. It helps you deploy applications that require administrator rights. You can use it to install the SMS administration Feature Pack on Win2K and XP machines. It uses encapsulation to distribute the SMS packages. You need to install the Feature Pack twice - once to configure NTLM for SMS and once to run the installation.
SMS has many benefits over other authentication technologies. It can manage up to 600 hardware objects at a time. Default settings allow SMS to inventory only about 200, but you can extend its reach to up to 400 objects. It can also generate random passwords and other authentication features. However, many administrators write scripts to change the account's password. You can use NTLM for SMS to make it easier for administrators to manage the SMS site accounts.
The NTLM for SMS protocol uses three different message types for authentication and one for message integrity. Each message has a variable-length message payload and header. The header always starts with Signature and MessageType fields, followed by the ASCII string itself. Each message is unique, but there are two common types. When you send an SMS using this protocol, you must remember the format of the messages. You need to use it correctly or you risk compromising the security of your SMS service.
The NTLM authentication message headers start with the NTLMSSP signature. This is a null-terminated ASCII string that identifies the account. This key is used in response to any request for authentication. The authentication message header also contains the message's type. A message with Type 1 authentication uses a message type of 0x01000000. The user name is a security buffer containing the account name.
NT LM 0.12
The SMB protocol supports multiple file systems. A request for file information is called an SMB transaction. The SMB header contains a Tid (the file system ID) to identify the file. This response includes an EchoCount. When this value is zero, no response is received. Other responses are generated if the request creates a file or directory. The following examples illustrate how SMB works. A server must receive an SMB transaction before it can create or open a file or directory.
The SMB protocol can be implemented using various techniques. The SMB protocol uses "durable file handles" to allow a connection to survive brief network outages. This saves the overhead of renegotiating a new session after each network outage. NT LM 0.12 is based on the CIFS specification and is backward compatible with all SMB variants. This version of SMB has several improvements.
SMB headers contain Sid, Uid, Pid, and Mid. SMB clients that have a working directory can use SMB_VERIFY_PATH. Since the server does not have a working directory, they must supply full pathnames relative to the Tid. The server responds with STATUS_MORE_PROCESSING_REQUIRED. In the event of a failure, the client can repeat the SessionSetupAndX SMB. The client understands SMBs introduced with the NT LM 0.12 dialect. SMB_COM_SESSION_SETUPANDX is the inverse of SMB_COM_SERVICE_SETUPANDX.
The NT_SET_PATH_INFORMATION transaction describes two levels below 0x101 and three levels above 0x200. It also contains a parameter word that should be ignored by the client. The SMB protocol also supports the SMB_COM_DELETE message, which changes the name of a file. The file name must be less than 256 characters long to be valid. The SMB protocol supports wildcards.
NT LM 0.12 on simpler, peer-to-peer networks
The NT LM protocol is an open standard for security in peer-to-peer networks. Its implementation is based on a client/server model where clients send requests to a server, which responds with a response. It is implemented using the NetBIOS protocol and involves a client sending a list of dialects to the server. The server chooses the most recent dialect based on the security features it offers.
