If I want to allow Windows networked drives between two firewalled computers, do I need to open ports 137-139, or is port 445 sufficient? I have to submit a form and get approval to open firewall ports, and I don't want to ask for more open ports than I need. All of the machines here are Windows XP or later.
Note: when I say "Windows networked drives", I'm not entirely sure whether I'm referring to SMB or CIFS, and I'm not entirely clear on the difference between the two protocols.
Best Answer
Ports 137-139 are for NetBios/Name resolution. Without it you will have to access machines by IP address opposed to NetBIOS name. Example
\\192.168.1.100\share_nameopposed to\\my_file_server\share_nameSo port 445 is sufficient if you can work with IP addresses only.