File sharing Windows Server 2012 R2

To share folders on Windows Server 2012, you must first installed File Server Role in the Add Roles and Features.

How to share new folders with Server Manager?

You can start the process of sharing NTFS folders in Server Manager by launching the New Share Wizard from the File and Storage Services details page.  This new wizard integrates the steps involved with creating a new folder, sharing the folder and setting NTFS permissions into a single continuous work stream for local and remote servers.

On the File and Storage Services page, select Shares and then click Tasks –> New Share -> to begin the New Share Wizard. 

File sharing Windows Server 2012 R2


Below are the file Share profiles available, please select based on your requirement.

SMB Share Quick – This basic profile represents the fastest way to create an SMB file share, typically used to share files with Windows-based computers.

  • Suitable for general file sharing
  • Advanced options can be configured later by using the Properties dialog

SMB Share Advanced – This advanced profile offers additional options to configure a SMB file share.

  • Set the folder owners for access-denied assistance
  • Configure default classification of data in the folder for management and access policies
  • Enable quotas

SMB Share Applications – This profile creates an SMB file share with settings appropriate for Hyper-V, certain databases, and other server applications.

NFS Share Quick – This basic profile represents the fastest way to create a NFS file share, typically used to share files with UNIX-based computers.

  • Suitable for general file sharing
  • Advanced options can be configured later by using the Properties dialog

NFS Share Advanced – This advanced profile offers additional options to configure a NFS file share.

  • Set the folder owners for access-denied assistance
  • Configure default classification of data in the folder for management and access policies
  • Enable quotas

In this article, I am selecting SMB Share – Quick and click the Next button. 

File sharing Windows Server 2012 R2

On the Select the server and path for this share page, select the server on which to create the new share (on the local or remote server) and the associated volume on which to create the new shared folder.  Click the Next button to continue. 

File sharing Windows Server 2012 R2

On the Specify share name page, type the name of your new Share name and click the Next button to continue. 

File sharing Windows Server 2012 R2

On the Configure share settings page, you will find advanced options for configuring Enable Access Based Enumeration, Caching of Share and Encrypt of Data Access.  Let’s select all three options and then click the Next button.

Below are the Other Settings options available,  

Enable Access Based Enumeration – It displays only the files and folders that a user has permissions to access.  If a user doesn’t have Read permission for a folder, windows hides the folder from the users view.

Allow Caching of Share– Caching makes the contents of the share available to offline users.  If the BranchCache for network files role service is installed, you can enable BranchCache on the share.

Encrypt Data Access – Remote file access to this share will be encrypted and secures the data against unauthorized access while the data is transferred to and from the share.

File sharing Windows Server 2012 R2

On the next page, Specify permissions to control, review the default permissions for the new NTFS folder and click the Customize permissions button to further customize these permissions as necessary.  When finished, click the Next button to continue. 

File sharing Windows Server 2012 R2

Click on Customize Permissions to setup the permissions.

In the Advanced Security Settings dialog box, click the Disable Inheritance button to disable inherited permissions from the parent folder in preparation of setting an explicit set of folder permissions. 

File sharing Windows Server 2012 R2

When prompted, click the option to convert inherited permissions into explicit permissions on this object. This will create a copy of each inherited permission access list entry into an explicit entry for this folder that we’ll be able to edit or remove. 

File sharing Windows Server 2012 R2

Then use the Add button to grant a new set of file permissions to the Users group. 

File sharing Windows Server 2012 R2

File sharing Windows Server 2012 R2

In this scenario, we want to modify the default permissions granted to the Users group for this folder.  Use the Remove button to remove each of the existing access list entries granted to the Users group.  

File sharing Windows Server 2012 R2

On the Confirm selections page, review the currently selected settings for sharing the new folder and click the Create button to begin the process of creating the new folder, applying NTFS permissions, and sharing the folder with the selected share settings. 

File sharing Windows Server 2012 R2

File sharing Windows Server 2012 R2

Below is the power shell script to do the same

MD C:\Shares\FileServer

New-SMBShare -Name FileServer -Path C:\Shares\FileServer -FolderEnumerationMode AccessBased -CachingMode Documents -EncryptData $True -FullAccess Everyone

How to Deploy & Configure DFS in Windows Server 2012 R2 Step by Step

How to Configure File Server Resource Manager in Server 2012 R2 Step by Step

How do I share files in Windows Server 2012?

Step 1 − Click Server Manager → then click on File and Storage Services in the Server Manager sidebar → click on Shares → click on the Shares drop-down list → click on New Share.

How do I enable file sharing on Windows Server?

Select the Start button, then select Settings > Network & internet , and on the right side, select Sharing options. Under Private, select Turn on Network discovery and Turn on file and printer sharing.

How do I open Share and Storage Management in Windows Server 2012?

Follow the below-listed steps to add a Shared Resource to the Server: Step 1 Click the start button> All programs> Administrative Tools, and select Share and Storage Management. Now, click on the Action menu on top of the Share and Storage Management console. To start the wizard, click on Provision Share.

How do I create a file sharing on a file server?

Select File and Storage Services, then Shares. Right-click in the blank area on the right side and select New Share. The "New Share Wizard" launches. For basic setup, select SMB Share - Quick, then Next.