SMB Access Setup

This section covers configuring SMB to present file-based storage to clients over the network. This includes creating and managing shares, allowing storage to be accessed by users and applications.

 

From the system menu, select Shares & Targets, then click Go to Share Management.

This will open the Share Management screen, where file-based access is configured. From here, SMB and NFS shares can be created and managed, providing access to storage for client systems. Now go ahead and click the + Create Share option

ThisThe system will openscan the pool for Volume Information

Depending on the number of storage pools configured on the system, one or more pools will be displayed in the Create Share configurationwindow. wizard.In Asthis shown,example, the system hasshows automaticallya selectedsingle pool named ZFSPOOL, along with its total size and currently available free capacity. To continue creating the volumeshare, select Drive1ZFSPOOL, andfrom the list.

In this example the share has been manually named SMB1Share1. The share name can be customised to reflect the intended use case or naming standard used within the environment.

 

In this example, aA size of 100 GB has been selected for this share from the available 1 TB drive.Pool. 

At this stage, select the file system for the share. This determines how data is written to disk and how the storage is handled.

In this example, XFS is selected as it is simple, predictable, and performs well, particularly with larger files and sequential workloads. Data protection is handled by the underlying RAID layer, so the file system can stay focused on doing its job properly without adding unnecessary overhead.

Other file systems such as BTRFS bring additional features like copy-on-write, snapshots, and more advanced data handling. Those features have their place, but they also come with additional overhead in terms of memory usage, write behaviour, and ongoing management. In this scenario, that complexity is not needed, and the focus is on keeping things stable and consistent.

As with all design choices, the appropriate file system will depend on the specific workload and operational requirements.

The final step is to define how the share will be presented to the network. In this example the share has been configured as a 100 GB share using the SMB/CIFS protocol, making it accessible to Windows systems and standard network file sharing clients.

Administrators can also supportschoose multi-protocolNFS access,for allowing SMB, AFP,Linux and FTPUNIX environments, or enable both NFS & SMB/CIFS simultaneously where mixed operating system access is required. Once the required protocol has been selected, press Create Share to beprovision enabledthe new share on the sameselected datasetZFS if required. Select Create Share to complete the configuration and create the share. 
pool.

Please note while AFP remains available for compatibility with older macOS systems, it is now considered a legacy protocol. In most environments, SMB should be used as the primary access method.

Once the share configuration has been submitted, euroNAS will begin provisioning the new share and applying the selected network services. Depending on the size of the environment and the protocols selected, this process can take several minutes before the share becomes fully accessible across the network. Once complete, the share will appear under the Shares section and will be available to connected clients.

Once the share has been created, the system will display a confirmation message indicating that the process has completed successfully.

 

The share is now online and available via 192.168.1.186.195. Access control can be configured using local users or through Active Directory integration.

Additional subfolders can be created within the share by selecting the + Create Shared Folder button. Select this option to continue.

This will open the Create Subfolder Share wizard. 

As shown, the top-level share SMB1 is available for selection. If multiple shares exist, they will be listed here. 

This allows you to create subfolders within an existing share and present them as individual shares from within the system.
Select SMB1 and choose Next to continue.

This screen is used to create a subfolder within an existing share. In this example, the subfolder testDatabase is created under the SMB1Share1 share. The selected volume represents the parent share, and the Share Name defines the name of the new subfolder that will be presented to users.

This allows a larger share to be broken down into smaller, more manageable areas without creating additional top-level storage. It also provides a straightforward way to organise data and apply more granular access control where required.

Enter the required share name and select Create Share to continue.

During this stage euroNAS is actively creating the share in the background. The system is allocating the filesystem, applying the selected protocol configuration, and registering the share with the required storage and network services. The animated progress indicator simply shows that the operation is still running. Depending on pool size, protocol selection, and overall system activity, this process may take several moments to complete before the share becomes available for client access.

As shown, the SMB share has now been successfully created and is available for use. The main share (SMB1)Share1 is visible along with the subfolder share (test)Database, confirming that both have been configured correctly.

From this screen, you can review share status, usage, and access settings, as well as make further changes if required.