Server Message Block (SMB) is a client/server protocol that provides file and printer sharing between computers. In addition SMB can share serial ports and communications abstractions such as named pipes and mailslots. SMB is similar to remote procedure call (RPC) specialised for file system access.

History

SMB was developed by Intel, Microsoft, and IBM in the early 1980s, with input from Xerox and 3Com. It is the native method of file and print sharing for operating systems from Microsoft, where it was referred to as Microsoft Networking. Windows for Workgroups, Windows 95, and Windows NT all included SMB clients and servers. SMB is also used by OS/2, Lan Manager, and Banyan Vines. There are SMB servers and clients for Unix, such as Samba and smbclient.

Microsoft developed an extended version of SMB for the Internet, the Common Internet File System (CIFS), which in most cases replaces SMB, though CIFS runs only runs over TCP/IP.^[1]

Description

SMB is a presentation layer protocol structured as a large set of commands (Server Message Blocks). There are commands to support file sharing, printer sharing, user authentication, resource browsing, and other miscellaneous functions. As clients and servers may implement different versions ("dialects") of the protocol they negotiate before starting a session.

The redirector packages SMB requests into a network control block (NBC) structure that can be sent across the network to a remote device. SMB originally ran on top of the lower level protocols NetBEUI and NetBIOS, but now typically runs over TCP/IP.^[1]

References

External links

• Server Message Block at Wikipedia

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This page uses GFDL licensed content from the Free On-line Dictionary of Computing.