CIFS is I think the protocol used on Windows and SAMBA.

jagger27 · on Feb 10, 2020

Yes, ish. CIFS is the protocol that came before SMB, but people still use the term to describe modern Windows SMB or Samba.

burfog · on Feb 10, 2020

SMB was first. CIFS is a rebranding that happened when Microsoft was forced to release documentation for the protocol.

derefr · on Feb 10, 2020

Yes, but CIFS was a rebranding of SMB1; successive versions of SMB have just been called SMB. So first there was SMB, and then CIFS, and then (and now) it's all been just SMB. The only ones still using the term "CIFS" at this point are the Linux/Samba folks.

burfog · on Feb 10, 2020

It's a case of running the Common Internet File System on top of the Server Message Block protocol.

SMB isn't just for filesystems. It is also used for printing, among other things. CIFS is the filesystem.

Outside of Linux/Samba folks, neither term is popular. Users say "Windows share" or "shared drive" or "network folder" or something like that.

blattimwind · on Feb 10, 2020

Don't see someone call SMB "modern" every day...