SMB Signing and Guest Authentication
Heya folks, Ned here again. We recently made SMB signing the default in Windows Insider Enterprise client builds. In doing so, we were quickly reminded of a consequence from an old unsafe SMB behavior that some folks still use: guest authentication ... continue reading
SMB signing required by default in Windows Insider
Heya folks, Ned here again. Beginning in Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25381 (Canary, zn_release) Enterprise editions, SMB signing is now required by default for all connections. This changes legacy behavior, where Windows 10 and 11 required SMB signing by ... continue reading
The beginning of the end of Remote Mailslots
Heya folks, Ned here again. With the release of Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25314, we have started disabling the Remote Mailslot protocol by default. This is a precursor to deprecation and eventual removal from Windows. You aren't using this extremely legacy ... continue reading
Upgrading and updating Windows Server AMA coming March 9
Heya folks, Ned here again. We've been hosting a series of monthly Windows Server AMA's and the latest is "Upgrading and Updating Windows Server" on March 9, 2023 at 9AM PST. Windows Server product team and mega experts like Rick Claus, Artem Pronichkin, ... continue reading
Windows Server DFSR and File Replication Survey
Heya folks, Ned here again. I just published a survey for IT Pros on DFSR and file replication. It will take only a couple minutes, is completely anonymous (unless you want to share more) and will help us make decisions about future technology in ... continue reading
Group Policy Preferences Drive Map Survey and Feedback
Heya folks, Ned here again. I just published a survey for IT Pros on Group Policy Preferences Drive Map. It's just a few minutes of your time, totally anonymous (unless you want to talk more) and could help make your life easier someday ... continue reading
Offline Files survey and feedback
Heya folks, Ned here again. I just published a survey for IT Pros on Offline Files (aka "Client-side Caching", aka "CSC"). It's just 5 minutes of your time, totally anonymous, and should help us make your life easier someday. Your feedback is invaluable ... continue reading
Slower SMB Read Performance for large files in 22H2
Heya folks, Ned here again. There is a performance regression in 22H2 when copying larger files from a remote computer down to a Windows 11 computer. A large (multi-GB file) might see as much as 40% less throughput over SMB when copying down ... continue reading

SMB authentication rate limiter now on by default in Windows Insider
Heya folks, Ned here again. Back in the spring of 2022 we released a new SMB preview feature: the SMB authentication rate limiter. It is available in Windows 11 Insider and Windows Server Insider builds. IT staff often enable access to the SMB server service ... continue reading

SMB compression behavior & settings changes
Heya folks, Ned here again. As you know from a previous post, we released an end-to-end SMB compression capability with Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022. You can learn all about it at SMB Compression | Microsoft Docs. There was ... continue reading