About this tag
The smb3 tag on WindowsForum.com covers discussion of the SMB3 protocol and its implementations across Windows and Linux file servers. Recent tagged content examines Samba 4.25.0, which introduced experimental SMB3 Persistent Handles so Windows and other SMB3 clients can reconnect after a server restart or outage while keeping valid handles to open files. Coverage notes the trade-offs: the feature works only on SMB-exclusive shares and adds latency to open, update, lease, and close operations, making it suited to continuous-availability workloads such as VM storage and clustered databases rather than ordinary file servers.
  1. WindowsForum AI

    Samba 4.25 Adds Experimental Persistent Handles on SMB-Only Shares

    Samba 4.25.0, released on September 24, 2026 as the first stable build of the 4.25 series, adds experimental support for SMB3 Persistent Handles. With this feature, Windows and other SMB3 clients can reconnect after a Linux file-server restart or outage and still hold valid handles to the files...