What is the difference between SMB and NFS on a NAS?

SMB and NFS are two network file-sharing protocols your NAS can offer at the same time. They do the same basic job — serve shared folders over the network — but come from different worlds.

SMB (Server Message Block)

• The native Windows file-sharing protocol; also fully supported by macOS and Linux.
• Handles user authentication, permissions and features like Time Machine and Previous Versions cleanly across platforms.
• Modern versions (SMB2/SMB3) are fast and secure, with signing and encryption.

NFS (Network File System)

• The traditional Unix/Linux protocol.
• Common for virtualization hosts (e.g. mounting NAS storage as a datastore) and Linux servers, where it can be low-overhead.
• Its classic permission model is host/IP-based, which suits controlled server environments more than casual home use.

Which should you use?

For a home or mixed Windows/Mac network, use SMB — it's the path of least resistance and what Windows and macOS expect. Reach for NFS when you have a specific Linux or virtualization workload that benefits from it. There's no need to choose globally: enable SMB for your everyday shares and add NFS only on the specific shares a Linux/VM host needs.

Whichever protocol serves your files, the data underneath depends on the NAS's RAID and your backups.