2.2 Protocol Summary

The tables below provide a comprehensive list of the member protocols of the File Access Services System. The member protocols are grouped according to their primary purpose.

Protocols in the following table enable communication between file client and SMB file service.

Protocol name	Description	Short name
Common Internet File System (CIFS) Browser Protocol	Used to access the Browser Service in order to discover nearby computers that can host file shares.	[MS-BRWS]
Common Internet File System (CIFS) Browser Auxiliary Protocol	Optionally used by Browser Service to query configuration information for the domains from the domain master browser server.	[MS-BRWSA]
Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol Specification	Defines the Common Internet File System (CIFS), a cross-platform, transport-independent protocol that provides a mechanism for client systems to use file and print services made available by server systems over a network.	[MS-CIFS]
Distributed File System (DFS): Referral Protocol Specification	Allows file system clients to resolve names from a namespace distributed across many servers and geographies into local names on specific file servers.	[MS-DFSC]
File System Algorithms	Algorithms used by the object stores that back the protocols specified by the documents [MS-SMB], [MS-SMB2], and [MS-CIFS]. These algorithms specify the behavior of operations like CreateFile, ReadFile, Close, and so on. These algorithms specify state, events, parameter validation, and error conditions for object store operations.	[MS-FSA]
File System Control Codes	Defines the network format of native Windows structures that can be used within other protocols. It also describes the structure of common Windows native file system control codes, file information levels, and file system information levels that are issued in client/server and server/server communications. These structures do not result in a protocol, but their structure is common across multiple protocols.	[MS-FSCC]
Server Message Block (SMB) Protocol Specification	Extensions to the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol, as specified in [MS-CIFS].	[MS-SMB]
Server Message Block (SMB) Version 2 Protocol Specification	Describes the Server Message Block (SMB) Version 2 Protocol, which supports the sharing of file and print resources between machines. The protocol borrows and extends concepts from the Server Message Block (SMB) Protocol, as specified in [MS-SMB].	[MS-SMB2]
SMB2 Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) Transport Protocol	Allows upper-layer packets to be delivered over RDMA-capable transports such as iWARP and Infiniband, while utilizing the Direct Data Placement (DDP) capabilities of these transports.	[MS-SMBD]

Protocols in the following table enable communication between a file client and NFS file service.

Protocol name	Description	Short name
NFS Version 2 Protocol Specification	Provides transparent remote access to shared files across networks.	[RFC1094]
NFS Version 3 Protocol Specification	A new protocol that extends the NFS version 2 functionality	[RFC1813]
Network File System (NFS) Version 4 Minor Version 1 Protocol	The second minor version of NFS version 4 protocol, providing support for enhanced availability in distributed deployment.	[RFC5661]

Protocols in the following table are used by a WebDAV client and server to function as a remote file system that accesses objects defined by URLs.

Protocol name	Description	Short name
HTTP Extensions for Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)	Defines HTTP protocol extensions that enable users to collaboratively edit and manage files on remote web servers.	[RFC4918]
Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) Protocol: Client Extensions	Extensions defined in this specification extend the WebDAV Protocol, as specified in [RFC4918].	[MS-WDV]
Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) Protocol: Microsoft Extensions	Documents more extensions to the WebDAV Protocol.	[MS-WDVME]
Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) Protocol: Server Extensions	Extends WebDAV by introducing new HTTP request and response headers that both enable file types that are not currently manageable and optimize protocol interactions for file system clients.	[MS-WDVSE]