CIFS: An Internet File System Protocol

Updated: September 3, 1998

New! Network Appliance Inc. announces the 1998 CIFS Conference -- Network Appliance, Inc. announced it will host the 1998 CIFS (Common Internet File System) Conference . Scheduled for October 12-16, 1998 in San Jose, California, the two-part conference will focus on the evolution of CIFS (SMB) technology for file/print sharing and the importance of interoperability in CIFS environments. This announcement marks the first time vendors and customers can test their CIFS-based products against each other in order to trouble-shoot products in a collaborative setting. Microsoft Corp. also has agreed to co-sponsor the event with NetApp. NetApp and Microsoft will provide vendors access to an exclusive, unprecedented CIFS Interoperability Lab. This lab will provide vendors who develop Server Message Block (SMB) or CIFS software to test the interoperability of their CIFS-based products.

The Internet is rapidly opening up new ways of communicating for individuals and organizations alike. Until now, most Internet usage has been limited to simple one-way file transfers or read-only browsing. However, the demand for greater interactivity on the Internet is exploding. Now there is the Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocol to support rich, collaborative applications over the Internet.

CIFS defines a standard remote file system access protocol for use over the Internet, enabling groups of users to work together and share documents across the Internet or within their corporate intranets. CIFS is an open, cross-platform technology based on the native file-sharing protocols built into Microsoft® Windows® and other popular PC operating systems, and supported on dozens of other platforms, including UNIX®. With CIFS, millions of computer users can open and share remote files on the Internet without having to install new software or change the way they work.

CIFS in a nutshell...

CIFS enables collaboration on the Internet by defining a remote file access protocol that is compatible with how applications already share data on local disks and network file servers. CIFS incorporates the same high-performance, multi-user read and write operations, locking, and file-sharing semantics that are the backbone of today's sophisticated enterprise computer networks. CIFS runs over TCP/IP and utilizes the Internet's global Domain Naming Service (DNS) for scalability, and is specifically optimized to support slower speed dial-up connections common on the Internet.

With CIFS, existing applications and applications for the World Wide Web can easily share data over the Internet or intranet, regardless of computer or operating system platform. CIFS is an enhanced version of Microsoft's open, cross-platform Server Message Block (SMB) protocol, the native file-sharing protocol in the Microsoft® Windows® 95, Windows NT®, and OS/2® operating systems and the standard way that millions of PC users share files across corporate intranets. CIFS is also widely available on UNIX, VMS™, Macintosh, and other platforms.

Microsoft is making sure that CIFS technology is open, published, and widely available for all computer users. Microsoft has submitted the CIFS 1.0 protocol specification to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as an Internet-Draft document and is working with interested parties for CIFS to be published as an Informational RFC. CIFS (SMB) has been an Open Group (formerly X/Open) standard for PC and UNIX interoperability since 1992 (X/Open CAE Specification C209).

CIFS is not intended to replace HTTP or other standards for the World Wide Web. CIFS complements HTTP while providing more sophisticated file sharing and file transfer than older protocols such as FTP. CIFS is designed to enable all applications, not just Web browsers, to open and share files securely across the Internet.

For more information on CIFS, see the links below:

CIFS benefits
CIFs products and vendors
CIFS spec and resources