Network File Sharing

1. Ensure all IPs and subnets are net correctly and machines can ping each other
2. Ensure shared folders are created and permissions are properly granted
3. You can use net share to view shared folders within your PC
   a. open powershell or command line
   b. type in net share and a list of shared directories will populate, with their share names and targeted directory
   c. If you want to remove old share volumes, you can use net share {sharename} /DELETE
4. I like to disable password protected file sharing for use in closed production networks and media servers
   a. In Windows, open "Advanced Sharing Settings" either be searching it, or navigate through Network Settings - Advance network settings - Advanced sharing settings
   b. Under "All Networks" turn off password protected sharing

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Group Policy for Guest Logons

If you are trying to access a shared folder on another PC, and you are absolutely sure that PC has guest sharing enabled and no password is set, your local PC may have a group policy set to prevent access. The tell-tale sign of this is when you try to access a remote server, you get a pop-up witht he following prompt, or similar:

You can't access this shared folder because your organization's security policies block unauthenticated guest access. These policies help protect your PC from unsafe or malicious devices on the network. This means your group policies are set to disable insecure guest logons in SMB2 and SMB3. Luckily, there is an easy fix to this.

Using Group Policy Editor

1. Select Start, type in gpedit.msc and select Edit group policy
2. In the left pane under Local Computer Policy, navigate to Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Network\Lanman Workstation
3. Open Enable insecure guest logons, select Enabled, then select OK.

Using Powershell

Run powershell elevated (as administrator) and run the following prompt:
Set-SmbClientConfiguration -EnableInsecureGuestLogons $true -Force
Set-SmbServerConfiguration -EnableInsecureGuestLogons $true -Force

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Symbolic Links (SymLinks)

There are two types of SymLinks, hard and soft. Hard makes the software think the files are actually in the symbolic link, Soft is more like a traditional shortcut. Hard links are more useful for media servers.
For either hard or soft, you must open a command prompt as administrator and run the following commands, we will use the command structure for directories, not just individual files.

Hard links

mklink /J [link] [target]
for example: mklink /J C:\LinkToFolder D:\Media\OriginalAssetsFolder

Soft Links (Symbolic Link / shortcut)

mklink /D [link] [target]
for example: mklink /D C:\LinkToFilder D:\Media\OriginalAssetsFolder

The flags to use are:
no flags soft link for a file only
/D soft link for a directory / folder
/H hard link for a file
/J hard link for a directory / folder, also known as a directory junction