SMB over QUIC POC

SMB over QUIC POC

I have had the distinct pleasure of being one of the first people to implement a SMB over QUIC POC. It was in a proof of concept I did with Windows Server 2022 Azure Edition in public preview.

That was a fun and educational excercise. As a result, I learned a lot. As a result, I decided to write a lab and test guide, primarily for my own reference. But also, to share my experience with others.

SMB over QUIC POC
So happy I did this POC and I am very happy with the results!

You can read the lab guide in a two part series of articles. SMB over QUIC: How to use it – Part I | StarWind Blog (starwindsoftware.com) and SMB over QUIC Testing Guide – Part II | StarWind Blog (starwindsoftware.com)

I am convinded it will fill a need for people that require remote access to SMB file shares without a VPN. Next to that, the integration with the KDC proxy service make it a Kerberos integrated solution. In addition, the KDC Prosy service has the added benefit of allowing for remote password changes.

If you need to get up to speed on what SMB over QUIC is all about I refer your to my article SMB over QUIC Technology | StarWind Blog (starwindsoftware.com). I’m sure that will bring you up to speed.

Finally, I hope you will find these articles useful. I’m pretty sure they will help you with your own SMB over QUIC POC and testing.

Thank your for reading!

Microsoft and QUIC

Microsoft and QUIC

If you are interested in Microsoft and QUIC I have some good news for you. Recently a new article, SMB over QUIC Technology | StarWind Blog (starwindsoftware.com) was published. It is the first in a series about what Microsoft is working on in regards to QUIC. While not without some controversy, QUIC does a lot for a number of issues connectivity over “the internet at large” has been dealing with.

  • It leverages UDP.
  • TLS 1.3 is built into the protocol.
  • Reduces RTT during connection & encryption setup.
  • Handles and optimizes flow control and loss recovery.
Figure : QUIC reduces the round trips during the TLS handshake significantly
QUIC reduces the round trips during the TLS handshake significantly

Over the internet, with mobile clients, this is a big deal. Since it is secure by default people really started thinking about where this can be used to improve things for all involved.

I think QUIC is going to be more and more important in the future and this article positions QUIC in the Microsoft ecosystem. So, head over there, read it, and let me know what you think.

TLS 1.3, QUIC, HTTP/3, and SMB 3.1.1 are shaking up things a bit by challenging TCP. Microsoft dropped QUIC into Windows Server 2022 Azure edition. That went into public preview last week and I dove in to the lab to figure out what I can do with it.

As a technologist, I am having a lot of fun testing this out in the lab. Last weekend I was busy with SMB over QUIC and QUIC in IIS. I learned a lot and have made up my mind I can use this in the real world to solve requirements. I will share my findings and musing with you in near the future. But today, start with an introduction in SMB over QUIC Technology | StarWind Blog (starwindsoftware.com).