ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Server Message Block

When your computer wants to talk to another computer, it uses something called a "protocol" to help it communicate. One type of protocol is called "Server Message Block" or SMB for short.

SMB is like a secret language that your computer speaks in when it wants to talk to other computers on a network. It helps your computer understand how to send and receive information from other computers.

Think of it like two friends who speak different languages. They might not be able to understand each other if they just talk normally, but if they learn a secret language that only the two of them know, they can communicate more easily.

SMB is used to share things like files, printers, and other resources between computers on a network. So if you want to print something from your computer but your printer is connected to another computer on the network, you can use SMB to tell that computer to print for you.

In technical terms, SMB is a client-server protocol that operates over the TCP/IP network protocol. It was created by Microsoft and is now used by many different operating systems including Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Overall, SMB is an important part of how computers communicate with each other on a network and helps ensure that everyone can access the resources they need.