109 | File-Sharing Giants of the Local Network — SMB and NFS

September 26, 2025

File-Sharing Giants of the Local Network — SMB and NFS

Introduction

When it comes to file sharing not over the internet, but within a local network (at the office or at home), other protocols take the stage. The two main competitors here are: SMB — the king of the Windows world, and NFS — the standard for Unix/Linux.

SMB (Server Message Block) — the language of Windows communication

SMB is a network protocol that provides shared access to files, printers, and other network resources. If you’ve ever opened a shared folder in Windows — you’ve used SMB.