SMB/CIFS

The SmbFilesystemListing class can be used for listing files on SMB 3.x network shares (Windows file shares or Samba 4.x).

How to use it ?

Use the following property in your Connector’s configuration:

fs.listing.class=io.streamthoughts.kafka.connect.filepulse.fs.SmbFileSystemListing

Configuration

The following table describes the properties that can be used to configure the SmbFilesystemListing:

Example Configuration

Here’s a complete example configuration for reading CSV files from a Windows SMB share:

# Connector configuration
name=smb-file-pulse-connector
connector.class=io.streamthoughts.kafka.connect.filepulse.source.FilePulseSourceConnector
fs.listing.class=io.streamthoughts.kafka.connect.filepulse.fs.SmbFileSystemListing

# SMB server configuration
smb.listing.host=192.168.1.100
smb.listing.port=445
smb.listing.share=shared_files
smb.listing.domain=MYDOMAIN
smb.listing.user=kafkauser
smb.listing.password=secretpassword
smb.listing.directory.path=/data/csv

# Connection and protocol configuration
smb.connection.timeout=30000
smb.response.timeout=30000
smb.so.timeout=30000
smb.connection.retries=5
smb.connection.retries.delay=5000
smb.protocol.max.version=SMB311

# File reader configuration
file.filter.regex.pattern=.*\\.csv$
tasks.reader.class=io.streamthoughts.kafka.connect.filepulse.fs.reader.SmbRowFileInputReader

# Kafka topic
kafka.topic=smb-data-topic

Supported Features

• ✅ SMB 3.0/3.0.2/3.1.1 protocol support only (SMB 1.0 and 2.x disabled)
• ✅ Windows Server 2012+ and Samba 4.x compatibility
• ✅ Domain authentication (Active Directory)
• ✅ NTLMv2 authentication (automatically negotiated by jCIFS library)
• ✅ SMB 3.x encryption support for secure file transfers (automatically negotiated)
• ✅ Automatic retry on connection failures
• ✅ File operations: list, read, move, delete
• ✅ Large file support with streaming
• ✅ Proper resource management to prevent file lock issues

Security Considerations

Protocol Security

The connector enforces the following security measures:

• SMB 3.0 minimum version (hardcoded for security)
• SMB 3.1.1 maximum version (configurable, default)
• SMB signing is enabled by default for message integrity
• SMB encryption is automatically negotiated when supported by the server

Network

• Ensure SMB port (445) is accessible from Kafka Connect workers

Permissions

Grant the SMB user only the necessary permissions:

• Read permission for file listing and ingestion
• Write and Delete permissions only if using file move/cleanup strategies

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

If you encounter connection problems:

1. Verify network connectivity: ping <smb-host>
2. Check SMB port: telnet <smb-host> 445 or nc -zv <smb-host> 445
3. Test credentials: Try connecting manually with smbclient (Linux) or Windows Explorer
4. Check firewall rules: Ensure port 445 is not blocked
5. Verify SMB 3.x support: Check server configuration supports SMB 3.0 or later

Example smbclient test:

smbclient //<smb-host>/<share-name> -U <domain>/<username> -m SMB3

Compatibility

Supported Platforms

• Windows Server: 2012 and later (SMB 3.0 introduced)
• Windows Client: Windows 8/10/11
• Samba: 4.0 and later (SMB 3.0 support)
• NAS devices: Modern NAS with SMB 3.0+ support

Unsupported (Security Reasons)

• ❌ Windows Server 2008 R2 and earlier (SMB 2.1 and older)
• ❌ Samba 3.x (no SMB 3.0 support)
• ❌ Legacy NAS devices without SMB 3.0
• ❌ SMB 1.0 clients/servers (deprecated, security risk)

Known Limitations

• Kerberos authentication is not supported (only NTLMv2)

Internal Implementation Details

The connector uses the jCIFS library (version 2.1.40) for SMB protocol implementation.

Configurable jCIFS properties:

• Connection timeout: Configurable via smb.connection.timeout (maps to jcifs.smb.client.connTimeout)
• Response timeout: Configurable via smb.response.timeout (maps to jcifs.smb.client.responseTimeout)
• Socket timeout: Configurable via smb.so.timeout (maps to jcifs.smb.client.soTimeout)
• SMB protocol versions: Min=SMB300 (hardcoded), Max=configurable (default SMB311)