Which protocol is commonly used for Windows network file sharing?

Which protocol is commonly used for Windows network file sharing?

• A. CIFS
• B. NFS
• C. FTP
• D. SSH

Answer: (A)

Windows network file sharing relies on the SMB family, with CIFS as the historically used dialect. CIFS is the protocol Windows implements (and evolved from SMB) to share folders and printers over a network. When you access a share using a path like \\server\share, you’re using SMB/CIFS. NFS is typical for Unix/Linux environments, FTP is for transferring files, and SSH is for remote access (with SFTP for transfers), but not for native Windows-style network shares. So CIFS is the common choice for Windows file sharing.

Windows network file sharing relies on the SMB family, with CIFS as the historically used dialect. CIFS is the protocol Windows implements (and evolved from SMB) to share folders and printers over a network. When you access a share using a path like \server\share, you’re using SMB/CIFS. NFS is typical for Unix/Linux environments, FTP is for transferring files, and SSH is for remote access (with SFTP for transfers), but not for native Windows-style network shares. So CIFS is the common choice for Windows file sharing.