Server Message Block (SMB)

In computer networking, Server Message Block (SMB) operates as an application-level network protocol mainly applied to shared access to files, printers, serial ports, and miscellaneous communications between nodes on a network. It also provides an authenticated Inter-process communication mechanism. Most usage of SMB involves computers running Microsoft Windows: in Microsoft environments users often know it simply as "Microsoft Windows Network".

When discussing SMB, one should distinguish:

• SMB the protocol
• the SMB services that run on the protocol
• NetBIOS
• the DCE/RPC services that use SMB as an authenticated Inter-process communication channel (over named pipes)
• the "Network Neighborhood" protocols which primarily (but not exclusively) run as datagram services directly on the NetBIOS transport