Create an SMB file share with default settings

This section explains how to create an SMB file share using the default settings.

Note

S3 File Gateway is not designed to participate in Microsoft Distributed File System (DFS) or File Replication Service (FRS) replication, or act as a DFS namespace server. A single S3 File Gateway file share can act as a single target share within DFS, which allows it to appear in your organization's DFS listings.

Create an SMB file share

SMB File share prerequisite

Before you create a Server Message Block (SMB) file share, make sure that you configure SMB security settings for your File Gateway. You must also configure either Microsoft Active Directory (AD) or guest access for authentication. A file share provides one type of SMB access only. For instructions, see Editing SMB settings for a gateway.

SMB file share creation with default settings

Use the following procedure to create an SMB file share using the default settings.

Note

An SMB file share doesn't work properly unless the required ports are open in your security group. For more information, see Port Requirements.

1. Open the AWS Storage Gateway console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/storagegateway/home/ and choose File shares from the left navigation pane.

2. Choose Create file share to open the File share settings page.

3. For Gateway, select your Amazon S3 File Gateway from the list.

4. For File share type, choose Server Message Block (SMB).

5. For S3 bucket, you can select an existing Amazon S3 bucket in your account or create a new one using Create new S3 bucket. Choose the Region where the Amazon S3 endpoint is located and set a unique bucket name in S3 bucket name.

   For information about creating a new bucket, see How do I create an S3 bucket? in the Amazon S3 User Guide.

   If you want to connect to a bucket in another account, choose A bucket in another account from the dropdown list. Enter the name of the account bucket in Cross-account bucket name.

6. Choose Configure to authenticate the configuration.

   1. For Authentication method, choose the authentication method that you want to use.

      • To use your corporate Microsoft AD for user authenticated access to your SMB file share, choose Active Directory.

        Note

        Your File Gateway must be joined to a domain. For more information, see Using Active Directory to authenticate users.

        Joining a domain creates an AD account in the default container (which isn't an organizational unit), using the gateway's Gateway ID as the account name (for example, SGW-1234ADE).

        If your AD environment requires that you pre-stage accounts to facilitate the join domain process, you will need to create this account ahead of time.

        If your AD environment has a designated organizational unit (OU) for new computer objects, you must specify that OU when joining the domain.

      • To provide only guest access, choose Guest access. If you choose this authentication method, your File Gateway doesn't have to be part of a Microsoft AD domain. You can also use a File Gateway that's a member of an AD domain to create file shares with guest access. You must set a guest password for your SMB server in the corresponding field.

7. Choose Create file share to create an SMB file share using the default settings described in the next section.

Note

Using S3 Versioning, Cross-Region Replication, or the Rsync utility when uploading data from a File Gateway can have significant cost implications. For more information, see Avoiding unanticipated costs when uploading data from File Gateway.

SMB file share default settings

The SMB file share that you created in the previous section uses the default settings listed in the table below.

Note

By default, the work flow described in the previous section provides full control to the owner of the Amazon S3 bucket that maps to the SMB file share. For more information about using your file share to access objects in a bucket owned by another account, see Using a file share for cross-account access.

Setting	Default value	Notes
Amazon S3 location	The file share is connected directly to the Amazon S3 bucket and has the same name as the bucket. Your gateway uses this bucket to store and retrieve files.	The name doesn't include a prefix.
AWS PrivateLink for S3	The file share isn't connected to Amazon S3 through an interface endpoint in your virtual private cloud (VPC).
File upload notification	Off
Storage class for new objects	S3 Standard	This lets you store your frequently accessed object data redundantly in multiple Availability Zones that are geographically separated. For more information about the S3 Standard storage class, see Storage classes for frequently accessed objects in the Amazon Simple Storage Service User Guide.
Object metadata	Guess MIME type	This allows Storage Gateway to guess the MIME type for uploaded objects based on file extensions. This option requires that Access Control Lists (ACLs) are turned on for the S3 bucket that's associated with your file share. If ACLs are turned off, the file share won't be able to access the Amazon S3 bucket, and will remain in the Unavailable state indefinitely.
Access based enumeration	Not activated	The files and folders on the file share are visible to all users during directory enumeration. Access-based enumeration is a system that filters the enumeration of files and folders on an SMB file share based on the share's access control lists (ACLs).
Enable requester pays	Off	For more information, see Requester Pays buckets.
Opportunistic lock (oplock)	On	This allows the file share to use opportunistic locking to optimize the file buffering strategy. In most cases, activating opportunistic locking improves performance, particularly with regard to Windows context menus.
Audit logs	Off	Logging in to an Amazon CloudWatch group is turned off by default.
Force case sensitivity	On	This allows the client to control the case sensitivity.
Access to your S3 bucket	Create a new IAM role	The default option allows the File Gateway to create a new IAM role and access policy on your behalf.

After your SMB file share is created, you can see your file share settings on the Details tab of the new file share.

Mount your SMB file share on your client