When is CIFS and NFS needed?

CIFS (also called SMB) is a network file protocol developed by Microsoft. There is a brief overview here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library ... 85%29.aspx

AFP is another network file protocol developed by Apple (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Filing_Protocol)

NFS is a third network file protocol that is older than both of these - developed by Sun for Unix back in 1984 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_File_System).

As you might expect, Microsoft systems work best with SMB/CIFs, Apple computers work best with AFP, and linux/unix systems work best with NFS. NFS is good for NAS to NAS backup because both systems are linux.

NFS by itself it not suitable for backups over the internet, because you want a secure protocol for that. RSYNC over SSH, or FTP over TLS are better (and I think more common) choices. Also many cloud backup programs have developed their own protocols generally specialized for continuous backup.

Thanks for your quick and detailed reply. Funny how MS tends to mess up things, I do know what SMB is :) my memory was a bit weak about CIFS.

Anyway, is it harmless to disable NFS if I don't access the nas from linux or backup over internet?

eton wrote:
Anyway, is it harmless to disable NFS if I don't access the nas from linux or backup over internet?

It is harmless - in fact it is reasonable to disable protocols you don't use.