Microsoft Windows SMB connector

Updated 11 November 2026

The SMB connector provides Boomi integrations with authenticated access to files and directories from any Boomi runtime, including MCS, without requiring Samba or any OS-level SMB client. Use it to exchange files with Windows file servers, NAS devices, and other SMB-compatible systems without first copying the data to an intermediary service.

Overview

What is the SMB connector?

SMB is a network file-sharing protocol commonly used by Windows servers, Windows-compatible NAS appliances, and enterprise file shares. The connector connects to a configured SMB share and performs file and directory operations on that share.

Supported Protocols and Authentication

Capability	Supported in version 1.0.0
SMB dialects	SMB 2.0.2, SMB 2.1, SMB 3.0, SMB 3.0.2, and SMB 3.1.1
SMB1/CIFS	Not supported
Authentication	NTLM username and password, with an optional Windows/Active Directory domain or workgroup
Kerberos	Not supported in this version
SMB3 encryption	Optional; enabled by the Require SMB3 Encryption connection field
DFS referrals	Optional; enabled by the Enable DFS connection field
Transport	TCP, normally port 445

Prerequisites

Before configuring the connector, confirm that:

• The Boomi runtime can resolve the SMB server hostname or reach its IP address.
• TCP port 445 is allowed from the runtime to the SMB server, or the configured custom port is reachable.
• The server exposes an SMB share, and the configured account has the permissions required by the operations in the process.
• The server supports SMB 2.0.2 or a later dialect listed above.
• The username, password, and optional domain/workgroup are valid for the target server.
• The share name should be known. Configure only the share name, not a UNC path containing the server name.

Benefits

• Native SMB access without OS-level mounts: Connect to Windows file shares in-process. No Samba, CIFS mount, or OS-level SMB client is needed on the Boomi runtime.
• Works on any Boomi runtime: Use the connector on Atoms, Molecules, and cloud runtimes, including Managed Cloud Service (MCS), whether Linux- or Windows-hosted.
• Focused set of actions: Get, Create, and Delete cover reading and writing files, creating and deleting directories, and retrieving file and folder metadata.
• Safe writes: Create File uploads to a temporary file and renames it only after the upload completes, so downstream systems do not pick up partially written files. Append mode writes directly to the target file.
• Control over file collisions and post-processing: Choose whether Create File fails, overwrites, creates a unique name, or appends when the file exists. Get File can leave, delete, or rename the source file after a successful read to help prevent duplicate processing.
• Secure connectivity: NTLM authentication with an optional Windows/Active Directory domain or workgroup, SMB 2.0.2 through 3.1.1, optional SMB3 encryption, and optional DFS referral support.
• Efficient session handling: Session pooling reuses authenticated sessions across operations, and configurable timeouts help processes fail predictably.
• Flexible paths: All paths are relative to the configured share. Set a Default Directory on the connection and override the path per document at runtime.

Connector configuration

To configure the connector, create these reusable components and add them to your process:

• SMB connection: Defines the SMB server, share, credentials, and security settings. See Connection Configuration.
• SMB operation (Get, Create, or Delete): Defines the action the connector performs and the object type it acts on. See Operations.

After you build the connection and operation, add the connector step to your process and map the inputs and outputs as required by your use case.

Supported Versions and SDK

• Boomi Connector SDK: 2.30.1
• Java: 8
• smbj (SMB client library): 0.14.0

Business Use Cases

• Cross-platform file exchange: Exchange files between Linux-hosted Boomi runtimes, including MCS, and Windows-based staging servers or partner file shares without mounting the share on the runtime.
• Scheduled file pickup: Read files from a share on a schedule. Use Action After Read to delete the file or rename it with a suffix such as .done so processed files are not picked up again.
• Outbound file delivery: Write extracts, reports, and flat files to a share for downstream applications. Temporary-file staging and Action If File Exists ensure consumers see only complete files and that collisions are handled predictably.
• Landing zone preparation and cleanup: Create directories before delivery, check whether a file or folder exists using the metadata object types, and remove processed files or obsolete directories.
• Replacing CIFS/Samba mounts: Retire OS-level network mounts on runtimes and manage file access directly from the process.

Known Limitations

• Supported actions: The connector supports only Get, Create, and Delete. It does not provide standalone Copy, Move, Rename, or directory-listing operations, nor listener (trigger) operations such as On New File. Rename is available only as the Rename-After-Read option on Get File.
• Authentication: NTLM username and password only. Kerberos is not supported in this version.
• Protocol: SMB1/CIFS is not supported. The server must support SMB 2.0.2 or later.
• One share per connection: A connection targets a single SMB share. Create a separate connection for each share or server.
• Path rules: Paths must be relative to the configured share. The connector rejects path segments and does not create the share root. Do not use UNC paths or include the server or share name in a path; paths are treated as share-relative.
• Streamed reads: Get File keeps the SMB session lease until the runtime consumes the output stream. Downstream components must fully consume the output so that the file handle and pooled session are released.
• Append mode: Append writes directly to the final file without temporary-file staging and is not retried after a partial write.
• Unique file names: Create Unique Name checks up to 10,000 candidate names before falling back to a UUID suffix.
• File attributes and permissions: The connector does not change file attributes or read or change ACLs. It exposes basic metadata, including file size, timestamps, and whether the item is a file or directory.
• The configured account must already have the required permissions on the share and underlying file system.
• Performance: Throughput depends on network latency, server load, and file size. With Socket Timeout set to 0, a stalled connection can block indefinitely; set a positive value for production processes.