Which protocol is primarily used by Windows for sharing files and printers over a network?

Which protocol is primarily used by Windows for sharing files and printers over a network?

• A. FTP
• B. SMB
• C. HTTP
• D. DNS

Answer: (B)

SMB, or Server Message Block, is the protocol Windows uses to share files and printers over a network. It provides the mechanisms to access shared folders, read and write files, manage permissions, and send print jobs to networked printers. Modern Windows systems implement SMB over TCP/IP (directly on port 445), which makes network shares and printer sharing seamless in Windows environments. This makes SMB the natural fit for this task. In contrast, FTP is just for transferring files, HTTP is for web traffic, and DNS is for translating domain names to IP addresses—none of them are designed around integrated file and printer sharing.

SMB, or Server Message Block, is the protocol Windows uses to share files and printers over a network. It provides the mechanisms to access shared folders, read and write files, manage permissions, and send print jobs to networked printers. Modern Windows systems implement SMB over TCP/IP (directly on port 445), which makes network shares and printer sharing seamless in Windows environments. This makes SMB the natural fit for this task. In contrast, FTP is just for transferring files, HTTP is for web traffic, and DNS is for translating domain names to IP addresses—none of them are designed around integrated file and printer sharing.