What’s new in SMB 3.1.1 in the Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview 2

  1. Introduction Every new version of Windows brings updates to our main remote file protocol, known as SMB (Server Message Block). If you’re not familiar with it, you can find some information in this previous blog post: Windows Server 2012 R2: Which version of the SMB protocol (SMB 1.0, SMB 2.0, SMB 2.1, SMB … Continue reading What’s new in SMB 3.1.1 in the Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview 2

The Deprecation of SMB1 – You should be planning to get rid of this old SMB dialect

I regularly get a question about when will SMB1 be completely removed from Windows. This blog post summarizes the current state of this old SMB dialect in Windows client and server.   1) SMB1 is deprecated, but not yet removed We already added SMB1 to the Windows Server 2012 R2 deprecation list in June 2013. … Continue reading The Deprecation of SMB1 – You should be planning to get rid of this old SMB dialect

Don’t miss the SNIA Storage Developer Conference 2014

It must be September once again… We are only a couple of weeks away from the Storage Developer Conference (SDC) hosted by the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA). The event will happen at the Hyatt Regency in beautiful Santa Clara, CA (Silicon Valley) on the week of September 15th. As usual, We’ll also have the … Continue reading Don’t miss the SNIA Storage Developer Conference 2014

Updated Links on Windows Server 2012 R2 File Server and SMB 3.02

In this post, I'm providing a reference to the most relevant content related to Windows Server 2012 R2 that is related to the File Server, the SMB 3.02 features and its associated scenarios like Hyper-V over SMB and SQL Server over SMB. This is what some like to call a "Survival Guide" for SMB 3.02. … Continue reading Updated Links on Windows Server 2012 R2 File Server and SMB 3.02

Windows Server 2012 R2: Which version of the SMB protocol (SMB 1.0, SMB 2.0, SMB 2.1, SMB 3.0 or SMB 3.02) are you using?

Note: This blog post is a Windows Server 2012 R2 update on a previous version focused on Windows Server 2012.   1. Introduction With the release of Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2, I am frequently asked about how older versions of Windows will behave when connecting to or from these new versions. Upgrading … Continue reading Windows Server 2012 R2: Which version of the SMB protocol (SMB 1.0, SMB 2.0, SMB 2.1, SMB 3.0 or SMB 3.02) are you using?

Raw notes from the Storage Developers Conference (SDC 2013)

This blog post is a compilation of my raw notes from SNIA’s SDC 2013 (Storage Developers Conference).Notes and disclaimers: These notes were typed during the talks and they may include typos and my own misinterpretations. Text in the bullets under each talk are quotes from the speaker or text from the speaker slides, not my personal … Continue reading Raw notes from the Storage Developers Conference (SDC 2013)

SNIA’s Storage Developer Conference 2013 is just a few weeks away

The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) is hosting the 10th Storage Developer Conference (SDC) in the Hyatt Regency in beautiful Santa Clara, CA (Silicon Valley) on the week of September 16th. As usual, Microsoft is one of the underwriters of the SNIA SMB2/SMB3 PlugFest, which is co-located with the SDC event. For developers working with … Continue reading SNIA’s Storage Developer Conference 2013 is just a few weeks away

Is accessing files via a loopback share the same as using a local path?

Question from a user (paraphrased): When we access a local file via loopback UNC path, is this the same as accessing via the local path? I mean, is  "C:myfoldera.txt" equal to "myservermysharea.txt" or I'll be using TCP/IP in any way?Answer from SMB developer: When accessing files over loopback, the initial connect and the metadata operations … Continue reading Is accessing files via a loopback share the same as using a local path?

Windows Server 2012 File Server Tip: Disable 8.3 Naming (and strip those short names too)

This has been a performance tip for File Servers for some time now: disable short names. There are big performance savings in disabling 8.3 naming and also for removing existing short names on a volume. Here’s a diagram from a presentation I delivered last year: The old “8dot3 naming” convention has been obsolete for a … Continue reading Windows Server 2012 File Server Tip: Disable 8.3 Naming (and strip those short names too)

Talks at SNW Fall 2012 in October will cover SMB Direct, Hyper-V over SMB and SMB 3.0

I have three presentations lined up for the ComputerWorld/SNIA SNW Fall 2012 Conference, scheduled for October 16-19, 2012 in Santa Clara, California. Here are the details for each one, taken from the official event web site.Industry Perspective: High Throughput File Servers with SMB Direct, Using the Three Flavors of RDMA network adapters Wednesday, 10/17/2012, 11:40 … Continue reading Talks at SNW Fall 2012 in October will cover SMB Direct, Hyper-V over SMB and SMB 3.0