[EMAIL PROTECTED] enscribed thusly:
> To Whom,
> How does CIFS measure up to SMB? Because, after reading Microsoft's
> perspective, I gather CIFS to be greater than SMB. I need an unbiased
> opinion.
On a philosophical note:
CIFS is Microsoft's attempt to elevate SMB to a standards level.
In spite of RFC 1001 and 1002, which really only address the netbios over
TCP/IP issues, the Microsoft network protocols have remained a proprietary
moras that contradicts their present day claims to "openness".
Andrew Tridgell, Luke Leighton, Jeremey Allison, myself, and others
on the Samba team have contributed to openning up some of these protocols,
with a crowbar. This effort has resulted in Samba now being capable of
becoming a PDC and dealing with some of the secure service provider
functions. None of these were touched on in RFC 1001/1002 and were not
part of any protocol spec until recently.
CIFS certainly must be greater than SMB, simply because Microsoft
has positioned it to be the superset of everything in SMB plus whatever
else they wanted to roll into a protocol they could control. At the
very least, it has to support everything in the SMB protocol or it
fails as the successor to the SMB protocol. Therefore, since CIFS is
not SMB and not less than SMB, it must be greater than SMB.
What does that really mean? It means that Samba is both and SMB
and CIFS protocol agent - with both client and server. Are there major
distinctions which say this is CIFS and that is SMB and neither are the
other? Not many... Some in theory. SMB/CIFS without netbios (whatever
THAT is) is one possibility. Some of the higher level RPC or COMMS stuff
is yet another. Right now, the terms are very close to interchangable.
That will probably change in time as what is called "CIFS" evolves and
what use to be called SMB languishes in the marsh of market speak.
As to an "unbiased opinion"? None here to be found... :-)
> *************************************************************************
> Signed,
> Inquisitive
> P.'S. Detailed Documentation(s) and Sample(s) are more than welcome!
Mike
--
Michael H. Warfield | (770) 985-6132 | [EMAIL PROTECTED]
(The Mad Wizard) | (770) 925-8248 | http://www.wittsend.com/mhw/
NIC whois: MHW9 | An optimist believes we live in the best of all
PGP Key: 0xDF1DD471 | possible worlds. A pessimist is sure of it!
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