File sharing on Windows is bad this is how to make it better

By default Windows uses SMB/CIFS, which is sub-optimal for performance and security. This is how to change to NFS and get better file sharing on any Windows machine.

[CapTVchilenaShootingStarMax]

There's a big caveat: Windows does not allow non-ANSI characters for files in NFS shares. I tried this, but since I'm in a non-English environment, file names got mangled.

[gwgux]

CIFS/SMB has always had more overhead out of the gate. However, NFSv4 does support user authentication and you can also tunnel it through SSH as an option if you're worried about security (NFSv4 can also do ACLs). The only caveat is that it'll add in overhead and may be on par or heavier than CIFS/SMB depending on how it was secured so there may be a performance hit (there's a LOT of variables involved when securing it that'll change depending on how it's being done). Even so, SMB is still easier to deal with in a large enterprise setting with hundreds of users for setting up permissions. Basically after going through all the effort to secure NFS and increasing the overhead, many admins could've just used SMB and been done with it.

That being said, it depends when choosing one for a Windows client. Both have their place, and while I'm not praising Microsoft (SMB really should be more efficient than it is, and I'm not a fan of their NFS implementation either), there's a solid case to be made for both protocols. I only wish Microsoft would do better about supporting open standards like NFS. There is literally no technical reason why they can't make a good graphical tool for it and update how Windows supports it. Therefore it's just them trying to be proprietary over open standards....as usual.

[jakemuff]

I know you use Synology NAS box but it would be good if you showed the opposite side. Doing this from Debian or Ubuntu server e.g how to create an NFS share to be used for Windows.

[KC_rocka]

Another great video. "Microsoft, do better" is something needed to be said ever since Windows 7.

[HikariKnight]

AFP shares are deprecated on MacOS, Apple switched over to smb (even for time machine) as the default

[tacioandrade]

NFS is a great tool, but in my view it loses in security in a desktop environment. With CIFS/SMB I have the option of putting the share protected by username and password, so that any user on the network with valid credentials can access the share.
The same goes for ACLs applied on the created shares, they work too.
NFS loses all this, or releases it via IP/DNS, which is less dangerous for the server environment, but in a local environment I don't think it is and anyone will have access to the data.
That is, despite the risks, I believe that a Linux or BSD server running samba is the best option for general purpose file sharing!

[peterschmidt]

Hey Chris, you reckon you could show how this is done in Linux? SMB really sucks on some distros through the file manager. It would be good to see how to use NFS in Linux. Cheers

[szaszm_]

I wouldn't call NFS the "default" on linux. Nowadays everyone uses SMB and if you right click share in dolphin or nautilus, it creates a samba share. And as others have said in the comments, NFS has its downsides, too. I prefer to use neither.

[antonbotha]

Thanks for the analogy on the forward and back slashes, I always struggled with it.

[MajorGlory]

Regarding changing PowerShell commands: Install-Windowsfeature is used on Windows Server OS, on desktop Clients the command is As far as I know this has always been the case. It is confusing however...

[ebiscaia]

Just to add my two cents because I tried to follow your tutorial today: don't name the .bat file "mount.bat". It would make the command loop as it is a Windows command.

Thanks again Chris for one more tutorial

[Jazzynupe]

Also a note about the shell, you can run the same command from PowerShell, just have to be aware or escaping or format requirements. All standard commands like mount will work if you format properly.

[eric-seastrand]

Great nfs-on-windows walkthrough! Would love a follow up video on how win-to-nix user mapping and permissions work.
Anecdotally: TrueNas SMB on 10gbe is plenty to edit 4K 8bit 4:2:0 over network using Davinci Resolve. Even works over wifi6 but with worse latency when scrubbing. You could likely achieve the same for your synology NAS with some tuning.

[beahydrated]

Just wanted to say thankyou for the windows tool. Im not the best with windows, and its been such a help when im helping my tech unsavvy mates fix up their windows machines

[brianmccullough]

Thanks for this, I love learning new tools, even if they are old to some of you guys!

[dustatron]

So FYI, on 10gbe SMB is 100% capable of editing directly off of a network attached storage. I have done it for almost a decade and with with teams of people editing from the same NAS before. You are probably referring specifically to final cut X which does require NFS. That is just a Mac FCP X limitation. It has something to do with the library files they use.

[FunctionGermany]

cool, but what if you can't map IPs to users for reasons like not having a synology NAS GUI or using DHCP on the clients? then you're stuck with free-for-all access to all allowed IPs that can communicate with the NFS server unless you start spending hours learning kerberos. i'm actually going back from using NFS+SMB to only using SMB in my network for simple and effective security.

[sillysimon]

Authenticating simply by an IP seems kinda vulnerable. Anyone in the network could just statically configure his network interface to give himself the required IP to access the share. Is there an easy way to mitigate this and if not, would Kerberos based authentication help?

[sovo]

I don't like having to fiddle with the command line just to share some files between two devices, especially when I only need to make a quick backup and the devices aren't mine. To me, it's frustrating to see it's 2022 and still there isn't a quick and simple, graphical and FREE way to share files between Linux, Android, Windows, and other OSes. Most of the time I end up using FTP, which is the same I was using over 20 years ago.

[johnbazaar]

Thank you. Exactly the tool I’ve been looking for to get away from SMB.
Thanks,
John