Chapter 5: Configuring Permissions and File Access

When users connect to a shared folder over a network, they can access the folders and files that the shared folder contains. Shared folders can contain applications, public data, or a user's personal data. This chapter will discuss the various methods of sharing folders, along with the effect that these methods will have on file and folder permissions when you create shared folders on a New Technology File System (NTFS) formatted partition.

This chapter will also talk about managing and configuring NTFS and sharing permissions on folders and files.

The following topics will be covered in this chapter:

• Overviewing different types of file systems
• Configuring and managing file access
• Understanding shared folder permissions
• Configuring and managing shared folders

In this chapter, you will learn about the different file systems that you can use in Windows 10. Furthermore, you will learn about the configuration...

Technical requirements

In this chapter, you will see various pieces of PowerShell code. These codes are available in this book's GitHub repository: https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Microsoft-Exam-MD-100-Windows-10-Certification-Guide/tree/master/Chapter05

In the Understanding permission inheritance section, you will learn about the difference between permission inheritances. The steps that you will follow have also been recorded. You can find these videos here: https://bit.ly/2LsQDqD

Overviewing different types of file systems

Before you can store data on a volume, you must format it. To format a volume, you must select the file system that the volume should use. Windows 10 supports different file systems, including file allocation table (FAT), FAT32, and extended file allocation table (exFAT); the NTFS file system and the Resilient File System (ReFS).

There is also the Compact Disc File System (CDFS) and the Universal Disk Format (UDF), which are used on optical and read-only media. These two file types are out of the scope of this exam guide.

In this section, you will learn about the differences and benefits of the file systems that Windows 10 supports. Let's learn about all these file systems in detail.

FAT

FAT is the oldest file system that Windows 10 supports. It has a low overhead but many limitations compared to newer file systems. However, enterprises often use it because nearly every operating system supports it. For example, you would...

Configuring and managing file access

You can control user access to files by configuring file and folder permissions. If file permissions are supported by the file system, such as the NTFS or ReFS file systems, you can configure permissions at the volume (root folder), folder, and file levels. You can also assign permissions explicitly or you can inherit them from the higher levels.

Understanding tools for managing files and folders

You can store data as files on local storage or remote storage. To manage these files, you can use several tools in Windows 10, such as File Explorer, Command Prompt, and PowerShell. Let's learn about each of them in the following sections.

File Explorer

File Explorer is a tool that you typically use to manage files and folders. In the previous editions of Windows, File Explorer was called Windows Explorer. File Explorer provides a simple interface that is familiar to most Windows users. By using File Explorer, you can perform several functions...

Understanding the Effective Access feature

The Effective Access feature determines the permissions a user or group has on an object by calculating the permissions that are granted to the user or group. The calculation considers the group membership permissions and any of the permissions that are inherited from the parent object.

The calculation determines all the domain and local groups that the user or group is a member of.

The Effective Access feature only produces a rough calculation of the permissions that a user has. The actual permissions that a user has might be different, because permissions can be granted or denied based on how a user signs in.

To view the Effective Access permissions, follow the following steps:

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Right-click on a folder.
3. Click the Properties | Security | Advanced | Effective Access | Select a user button.
4. Choose a user and click OK.
5. Then, click View effective access. The Effective Access tab can be seen...

Configuring and managing shared folders

The daily administrator's job is to collaborate with your team. Your team might create documents that only team members can share, or you might work with a remote team member who needs access to your team's files. Because of this type of collaboration and the requirements for this, you must understand how to manage shared folders in a network environment.

A user can connect to a shared folder over a network and access the folders and files that are in the shared folder. Shared folders can contain applications, public data, or a user's personal data. By providing a central location for shared folders, you enable the following features:

• Simplification of administrative management
• Ease in backing up data
• Consistent location and availability
• User familiarity

In this section, we will learn about the various methods you can use to share folders, along with the effect this has on file and folder permissions...

Summary

In this chapter, we have learned a lot of information about file systems, configuring and managing file access, and shared folders and permissions inheritance.

You learned that Windows 10 has three types of file system: FAT, NTFS, and ReFS. However, using FAT/FAT32 as a file system for Windows 10 is not advisable. NTFS is the default file system for Windows 10 and provides better enhancements, such as reliability, security, and support for larger volumes. With the NTFS file system, you can configure and manage file access on local storage or on remote storage, such as on a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device. You can configure and manage file access with tools such as File Explorer and PowerShell.

You also learned that there are two types of file and folder permissions: basic permissions and advanced permissions.

Then, you learned about permission inheritance. Permission inheritance allows the permissions that you set on a folder to be applied automatically to files...

Questions

1. Can the FAT file system support a partition size of 1 TB?
2. Does the ReFS file system support the quota feature?
3. With the Read and Execute permissions, is it possible to start programs?
4. When you copy a file within a single volume, will the copy of the file inherit the permissions of the destination folder?
5. Was File Explorer also in older versions of Windows?
6. If you were to remove all shared folders, will Windows 10 automatically delete the firewall rules?
7. Can you use the net use command to set the shared folder properties?

Further reading

• File System Functionality Comparison: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/filesystem-functionality-comparison?redirectedfrom=MSDN
• FAT16 versus FAT32: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-2000-server/cc940351(v=technet.10)?redirectedfrom=MSDN
• Resilient File System Overview: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2012-R2-and-2012/hh831724(v=ws.11)?redirectedfrom=MSDN
• Building a next generation file system for Windows: ReFS: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/b8/2012/01/16/building-the-next-generation-file-system-for-windows-refs/
• Icacls: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2012-R2-and-2012/cc753525(v=ws.11)?redirectedfrom=MSDN
• Set-Acl: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/Microsoft.PowerShell.Security/Set-Acl?view=powershell-5.1
• Get-SmbShare: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module...