Server Message Block


Server Message Block

(protocol)(SMB) A client/server protocol that providesfile and printer sharing between computers. In addition SMBcan share serial ports and communications abstractions suchas named pipes and mail slots. SMB is similar to remote procedure call (RPC) specialised for file system access.

SMB was developed by Intel, Microsoft, and IBM in theearly 1980s. It has also had input from Xerox and 3Com.It is the native method of file and print sharing forMicrosoft operating systems; where it is called Microsoft Networking. Windows for Workgroups, Windows 95, andWindows NT all include SMB clients and servers. SMB is alsoused by OS/2, Lan Manager and Banyan Vines. There areSMB servers and clients for Unix, for example Samba andsmbclient.

SMB is a presentation layer protocol structured as a largeset of commands (Server Message Blocks). There are commandsto support file sharing, printer sharing, user authentication, resource browsing, and other miscellaneousfunctions. As clients and servers may implement differentversions ("dialects") of the protocol they negotiate beforestarting a session.

The redirector packages SMB requests into a network control block (NBC) structure that can be sent across the network toa remote device.

SMB originally ran on top of the lower level protocolsNetBEUI and NetBIOS, but now typically runs over TCP/IP.

Microsoft have developed an extended version of SMB for theInternet, the Common Internet File System (CIFS), which inmost cases replaces SMB. CIFS runs only runs over TCP/IP.

Just what is SMB?.

IBM protocols.

Microsoft SMB/CIFS documents.