Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

When managing more than one computer in a local area network (LAN), Windows network file sharing lets users access files from another machine without copying data manually or relying on removable media. Windows handles this through the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol. This guide explains how to share a folder in Windows 10 and Windows 11, configure users and permissions, connect to a shared folder, map a network drive and resolve common SMB access errors.

A virtual switch is the software equivalent of a physical network switch, connecting the virtual network adapters of virtual machines (VMs) to a network at Layer 2 of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. VMware provides vSwitches across its virtualization platforms, but how you manage them depends on the type you choose. A standard vSwitch has to be set up by hand on every ESXi host.

Microsoft Active Directory is widely used for authentication, and many software solutions can integrate with it to rely on a single authentication system. VMware vSphere components, including vCenter Server and ESXi hosts, also support Active Directory integration, which simplifies account and access management. However, this convenience introduces specific security risks that administrators need to understand and mitigate.

Data replication is primarily used when service and data availability requirements are high. There are two types of replication – real-time replication or continuous replication and traditional replication, also called periodical or snapshot replication. Real-time replication has more advantages than traditional replication but consumes more resources. For this reason, it is better to follow data replication best practices to implement real-time VM replication for disaster recovery.