SMB Protocol and DW Spectrum®

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Affected Roles:  Administrator, Owner

Related Digital Watchdog VMS Apps:  DW Spectrum® IPVMS

Last Edit:  February 11, 2021

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SMB Protocol

Server Message Block (SMB) is a communication protocol used to provide shared access to files, printers, and serial ports between nodes on a network.

SMB works through a client-server model where a client makes specific requests for data and the server responds accordingly. This method is used to facilitate communications between devices over SMB, often to exchange data between computers that have been authenticated to allow the process of managing shared data.

This article will outline the SMB protocol requirements of external storage devices when used in combination with DW Blackjack® units and DW Spectrum® IPVMS.

**NOTE:  To learn how to expand storage for a DW Spectrum® Server using a NAS, please use Expand Storage with NAS Devices (SAMBA Method).

SMB & DW Spectrum®

For security reasons, Windows 10 does not support SMB1 protocol as it has been superseded by SMB2 for its reduction of commands, pipelining, cryptographic hashing, and other improved features.  If an external storage device is still using SMB1, it will need a firmware upgrade to SMB2 or higher in order to connect to a DW Spectrum system running on Windows 10.

Support for SMB2 is also still compatible with current versions (v4.0 and higher) of DW Spectrum® Systems running on Windows 7.

**NOTE:  As a workaround, you can try to enable SMB1 support on your server, but it is not recommended for security reasons.

**NOTE:  Server 2019 will work with DW Spectrum® IPVMS using SMB2 or SMB3