Server Message Block (SMB) + Samba

Server Message Block (SMB)

Server Message Block (SMB) is a Presentation layer protocol developed through the efforts of corporations the likes of Xerox, 3Com, and IBM and further developed by (and currently attributed
to) Microsoft, providing a networking command message format used when sending networking commands to servers. These commands allow a client to do things like browse for resources; open connections, access files, printers, and communications ports; and list directories. SMB can be run over any number of lower-layer protocols, such as NetBEUI, NetBIOS over TCP/IP, NetBIOS over IPX/SPX, and others.

Samba
SMB is not limited to Windows machines (although they are where SMB commands are usually found). SMB is being developed for the world community as the Common Internet File System
(CIFS), a term now synonymous with SMB. Through Samba, one popular application of SMB/CIFS for the non-Microsoft market (visit samba.org), UNIX and Linux servers can use SMB commands
to communicate with Windows clients. Samba is a free open-source protocol suite that provides file and print services to SMB/CIFS clients. Samba allows for interoperability between Linux/UNIX servers and Windows-based clients by running on a platform other than Microsoft Windows, such as UNIXLinux, IBM OpenVMS, and so on. Samba uses TCP/IP installed on the host server, allowing that host to interact with a Microsoft Windows client or server as if it were a Windows file and print server.
The two primary programs, or daemons, of Samba, called smbd and nmbd, are responsible for two each of the four common CIFS services:

• File and print services
• Authentication and authorization
• Name resolution
• Service announcement (browsing)

Arguably the foundation of CIFS, file and print services are performed by smbd, as are authentication and authorization. The nmbd daemon provides NetBIOS name services to clients,

including name resolution and service announcement, often referred to as browsing services.