Network share

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A network share is a location on a computer network, typically allowing multiple computer users on the same network to have a centralized space on which to store files (i.e. documents, spreadsheets, etc).

A network share is created on a computer by marking a directory as shared (the exact process varies by platform). The name of the share can be different from the directory upon which it is based. The share is accessed by client computers through some naming convention, such as UNC (Universal Naming Convention) (i.e. \\ServerComputerName\ShareName).

On Microsoft Windows, a network share is provided by the Windows network component "File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks", using Microsoft's SMB (Server Message Block) protocol. Unix, Linux, and Mac systems use Samba to create network shares.

A network share can become a security liability when access to the shared files is gained (often by devious means) by those who should not have access to them.

Network shares can also be implemented with WebDAV, NFS, or AFS.

[edit] See also

• Network-attached storage
• Administrative shares