SMB3 Interoperability Lab

June 14-16, 2022 Co-located with SDC EMEA (Virtual)

The SDC EMEA SMB3 Interoperability (IO) Lab will take place online Tuesday, June 14 through Thursday, June 16, 2022, plus an additional week of extended access time to the virtual testing framework through June 22. The online lab environment will be available 24 hours each day, making it easy for everyone to access. The purpose of this IO Lab is for vendors to bring their implementations of SMB3 to test, identify, and fix bugs in a collaborative setting with the goal of providing a forum in which companies can develop interoperable products. There are several new features that have recently been added to the SMB3 protocol:

  • SMB3 now is able to communicate over QUIC, a new internet standard transport which is being broadly adopted for web and other application access.
  • Support for the stronger version of AES-GMAC authentication (AES-GCM-256)
  • Support for share compression
  • Support for encryption over RDMA
  • Roadmap for security-related SMB changes for Windows

The IO Lab is an opportunity to learn about these new features and test your implementation with Microsoft Windows protocol test suites.  During the IO Lab you have the opportunity to directly engage with Windows Protocol Support, Test Suite Development, and members of the Windows development team as well as network with other professionals from all over the world.

In addition the SNIA SMB3 IO Lab offers:

  • The latest Windows client and server software from Microsoft, including test suites that help verify interoperability on various features of SMB3 protocols
  • Technical support from SMB3 engineers to look at traces and help with diagnosing problems
  • IO Lab participants are covered by a non-disclosure agreement and entry is restricted to registrants only

If you are reluctant to participate because you feel that your SMB implementation is "not ready", you should still participate! The SMB3 IO Lab is also a development opportunity, not just a testing opportunity. Implementations still in development are encouraged to participate.  It's a great opportunity to get help and learn from the experts!

How Your Company Can Participate

A primary representative from each company that wishes to participate must complete the SNIA EMEA SMB3 IO Lab Company Registration. There is no fee to participate in the IO Lab.  Once the online company registration form has been completed the company primary representative will be sent details which will allow the company’s IO Lab Engineers to register for SDC EMEA and the IO Lab. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please contact Arnold Jones (tcmd@snia.org).

SMB3 IO Lab Logistics

All registered IO Lab participants will be sent credentials to access the virtual private network that has been set up for testing.  In addition, participants will be sent credentials to a Microsoft Teams group that will be used for participant interaction and support during the event.