Client Profiles SMB Fields

The Common Internet File System (CIFS) is a file sharing protocol. Clients use this protocol to request file access services from servers over a network. CIFS is based on the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol. Use the SMB area on the Client Profiles tab to define CIFS/SMB parameters.

Field

Description

Data Randomization Fields:

Randomize Data

Select to randomize the data blocks that the client writes to the server. This is useful for testing the performance and caching capabilities of WAN accelerators, for example, in sending only the data that has changed from the previously accessed version of a file.

NOTE: Data randomization is available for client write operations only.

Start Location

Select the starting location within the file to begin the randomization:

Beginning
Middle
End

Randomization Percentage

The percentage of the file that you want to randomize. This determines the scope of the data within the file that gets randomized. For example, 100% does not mean that every data block will change. It means that data can change within the entire scope of the file. Enter a smaller percentage to change only a portion of the file.

This field works in conjunction with the Start location field. For example, if you select Middle for the start location, and 10% for the randomization percentage, the scope of data that gets randomized is from the middle of the file, plus or minus 5%.

Randomization Seed

A seed value to use in the algorithm to determine the first data block to modify for client write operations. If you want to maintain the same data randomization results for each test run, you should keep the seed value the same. Otherwise, you should vary the seed value between test runs.

Read/Write Offset Randomization Fields:

Offset Randomization Seed

A seed value to use in the algorithm to determine the first offset to modify for client read and write operations. If you want to maintain the same offset randomization results for each test run, you should keep the seed value the same. Otherwise, you should vary the seed value between test runs.

Authentication/Session Information Fields:

Native OS

A string that specifies the native operating system during session setup.

Native LAN Manager

A string that specifies the native LAN manager during session setup.

Transaction Control Fields:

Use SMB Transaction Control

Select to control the number of SMB protocol transactions/second per session.

Transaction Rate per Session

The number of SMB protocol transactions/second per session.

NOTE: As an example, if you set 0.15 transactions/second per session, Avalanche maintains 6,667 ms intervals between SMB requests, in order to produce not more than 0.15 transactions per second per session. If your test's load specification is configured for 100 SimUsers, then not more than 15 transactions per second will be produced.

Data Encryption and Validation Fields:

Enable Data Encryption and Validation

Select one of the following SMB security features:

Encryption: (SMB 3.0, 3.0.2, 3.1.1) Provides end-to-end encryption and protects SMB data from interception attacks on untrusted networks. The cryptographic algorithm options depend on the SMB dialect revision that you configure in the CIFSNG Action list as follows:

SMB 3.0, 3.0.2: select AES-128-CCM
SMB 3.1.1: select either AES-128-GCM or AES-128-CCM

NOTE: See https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/file-server/smb-security for more information.

Signature: (SMB 2.002, 2.1, 3.0, 3.0.2, 3.1.1) Provides a security mechanism, known as SMB signing. After a successful authentication, every SMB message contains a signature generated by using a session key negotiated in the session setup request.

NOTES:

See https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-server/networking/overview-server-message-block-signing for more information.
The Signature feature in Avalanche is non-negotiable. Your client and emulated server Signature settings must match. Otherwise, negotiation will fail.

Multi Channel Support Fields:

Enable Multi Channel

(SMB 3.0, 3.0.2, 3.1.1) Select to enable the SMB Multichannel feature to increase network performance and availability of file servers.

NOTE: See https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure-stack/hci/manage/manage-smb-multichannel for more information.

Number of Connections per IP Pair

The number of connections to create for each server-to-client IP address pair.

NOTE: This value must be less than or equal to the Maximum Connections Per Server configured in the Client Profiles HTTP:Browser area. Otherwise, an error message appears.

Related Information:

Configuring a Client Profile

Testing CIFSNG/SMB

CIFS SMB Support in Avalanche