Manage Active Directory connections

Last reviewed 2024-04-25 UTC

The following file sharing protocols rely on external directory services to provide user identity information:

  • SMB (CIFS)

  • NFSv3 with extended groups

  • NFSv4

Cloud Volumes Service for Google Cloud relies on Microsoft Active Directory for directory services.

Active Directory provides services including an LDAP server for looking up objects, a DNS server to resolve hostnames, and a Kerberos server for authentication. Objects include:

  • Users

  • Groups

  • Machine accounts

For best practices, see DNS recommendations.

For more information on Active Directory, see Active Directory: Design Considerations and Best Practices.