NFS vs SMB: Choosing the Right Network Storage Protocol

Sharing storage across your homelab network? The two main protocols are NFS and SMB (CIFS). Here's when to use each and how to set them up.

Quick Comparison

Feature	NFS	SMB/CIFS
Best for	Linux clients	Windows/mixed
Performance	Higher	Good
Setup complexity	Medium	Low
Windows support	Limited	Native
Linux support	Native	Good
macOS support	Good	Good
Authentication	UID/GID	User/password

When to Use NFS

Choose NFS when:

• All clients are Linux
• Performance is critical
• Docker containers need shared storage
• Proxmox/KVM shared storage
• Simple permission model works

When to Use SMB

Choose SMB when:

• Windows clients exist
• Mixed environment (Windows + Linux + Mac)
• User-based permissions needed
• Media streaming to TVs/devices
• Samba AD integration required

NFS Setup (Server)

Install NFS Server

sudo apt install nfs-kernel-server

Create Export

sudo mkdir -p /srv/nfs/media
sudo chown nobody:nogroup /srv/nfs/media

Configure Exports

/etc/exports

/srv/nfs/media    192.168.1.0/24(rw,sync,no_subtree_check,no_root_squash)

Options explained:

• rw - Read/write access
• sync - Write to disk before confirming
• no_subtree_check - Improves reliability
• no_root_squash - Allow root access (use carefully!)

Apply and Start

sudo exportfs -a
sudo systemctl restart nfs-kernel-server

NFS Client Setup

# Install client
sudo apt install nfs-common

# Create mount point
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/media

# Mount
sudo mount -t nfs server-ip:/srv/nfs/media /mnt/media

# Verify
df -h /mnt/media

Persistent Mount (fstab)

/etc/fstab

server-ip:/srv/nfs/media  /mnt/media  nfs  defaults,_netdev  0  0

Docker Usage

docker-compose.yml

services:
  jellyfin:
    volumes:
      - nfs_media:/media

volumes:
  nfs_media:
    driver: local
    driver_opts:
      type: nfs
      o: addr=192.168.1.100,rw,nfsvers=4
      device: ":/srv/nfs/media"

SMB Setup (Server)

Install Samba

sudo apt install samba

Create Share Directory

sudo mkdir -p /srv/samba/media
sudo chown nobody:nogroup /srv/samba/media
sudo chmod 2775 /srv/samba/media

Configure Samba

/etc/samba/smb.conf

[media]
   path = /srv/samba/media
   browseable = yes
   read only = no
   guest ok = no
   valid users = @sambashare
   create mask = 0664
   directory mask = 0775

Create Samba User

# Add system user to samba group
sudo usermod -aG sambashare your-username

# Set Samba password
sudo smbpasswd -a your-username

Restart Samba

sudo systemctl restart smbd
sudo systemctl restart nmbd

SMB Client Setup

Linux

# Install client
sudo apt install cifs-utils

# Mount
sudo mount -t cifs //server-ip/media /mnt/media -o username=your-username

# Persistent with credentials file
echo "username=your-username" > ~/.smbcredentials
echo "password=your-password" >> ~/.smbcredentials
chmod 600 ~/.smbcredentials

/etc/fstab

//server-ip/media  /mnt/media  cifs  credentials=/home/user/.smbcredentials,_netdev  0  0

Windows

# Map network drive
net use M: \\server-ip\media /user:your-username

Or via File Explorer: \\server-ip\media

macOS

Finder → Go → Connect to Server → smb://server-ip/media

Performance Tips

NFS Tuning

/etc/fstab

# Optimized NFS mount
server:/share  /mnt/share  nfs  rsize=1048576,wsize=1048576,hard,intr,_netdev  0  0

• rsize/wsize - Larger buffer sizes
• hard - Retry indefinitely on failure
• intr - Allow interrupt

SMB Tuning

/etc/samba/smb.conf

[global]
   socket options = TCP_NODELAY IPTOS_LOWDELAY
   read raw = yes
   write raw = yes
   max xmit = 65535

SSHFS Alternative

For quick, secure mounts:

# Install
sudo apt install sshfs

# Mount
sshfs user@server:/path /mnt/sshfs

# Unmount
fusermount -u /mnt/sshfs

Pros: Encrypted, works through firewalls Cons: Slower, requires SSH access

My Setup

Current storage shares:

• NFS - Proxmox VM disks, Docker volumes
• SMB - Media library for TVs/clients
• SSHFS - Quick access during development

Learn More

• NFS Configuration
• CIFS/SMB Configuration
• SSHFS Setup
• MergerFS Pool

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