Which pair of network storage protocols is commonly used with NAS devices?

• A. FTP and HTTP
• B. SMTP and POP3
• C. CIFS and NFS
• D. SSH and Telnet

Answer: (C)

NAS devices share files over the network by presenting a file system that clients can mount, so the most common pair of protocols for this purpose is CIFS/SMB and NFS. CIFS, which is the Windows implementation of SMB, lets Windows clients access NAS shares as if they were local folders, with familiar permissions and workflows. NFS is the traditional file-sharing protocol used by Unix and Linux systems, and many NAS devices support it to provide native access for those environments. Offering both options makes the NAS compatible with mixed networks, letting Windows, Linux/UNIX, and macOS clients connect using their native file-sharing methods.

Other options don’t fit as well because they’re not primarily about mounting shared file systems. FTP and HTTP are mainly for transferring or remotely accessing files, not for seamless file sharing with integrated permissions. SSH and Telnet provide remote command-line access, not file-level network shares.