REDMOND, Wash., and HELSINKI, Finland — Sept. 14, 2016 — On Wednesday, Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC and Tuxera Inc. announced they have expanded their collaboration to Server Message Block (SMB) technology, fueling innovation in a range of fields and enhancing business solutions for customers around the globe. The collaboration comes as Tuxera launches its new Tuxera SMB (now called Fusion File Share by Tuxera as of 2019) as a drop-in replacement for the open-source Samba and other alternative SMB/Common Internet File System (CIFS) servers, ideally suited for embedded platforms.

“All the existing SMB/CIFS servers on the market, both open source and proprietary, have years of legacy code as added weight. This makes them not optimal for embedded use due to limited CPU, memory constraints and demanding support requirements,” said Szabolcs Szakacsits, Tuxera’s president and chief technology officer.

“Microsoft has helped lead the way in developing connected technologies, and SMB is integral to our server and business solutions,” said Nick Psyhogeos, president of Microsoft Technology Licensing. “Agreements like ours with Tuxera will accelerate the pace of innovation and shape industries that depend on a near-universal language for file transfers across networks.”

“We are excited to expand our multiyear cooperation with Microsoft to new technologies,” said Mikko Välimäki, Tuxera’s CEO. “Building on our market understanding as the global leader in file systems, Fusion File Share has state-of-the-art modular architecture that makes it possible to run the server in both user and kernel space and reach hardware limit in I/O throughput, while maintaining the lowest possible CPU usage and memory footprint of any other alternative.”

Microsoft’s commitment to licensing IP

The patent agreement is another example of the important role intellectual property (IP) plays in ensuring a healthy and vibrant technology ecosystem. Since Microsoft launched its IP licensing program in December 2003, it has entered into more than 1,200 licensing agreements. More information about Microsoft’s licensing programs is available at http://www.microsoft.com/iplicensing.

Fusion File Share by Tuxera is available for immediate deployment on Linux and Android, and supports the most popular embedded platforms. Contact for more information.

Also accessible at http://news.microsoft.com/2016/09/14/microsoft-and-tuxera-strengthen-partnership-through-tuxera-smb-server/#DOpikZCxPShyv8OV.99