XenServer

ISO library on SMB/CIFS

November 14, 2025

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The ISO type handles CD images stored as files in ISO format. This storage repository (SR) type is useful for creating shared ISO libraries.

The ISO SR type cifs uses the Windows File Sharing (SMB/CIFS) SR type to handle CD images stored as files in ISO format available as a Windows (SMB/CIFS) share.

If you do not specify the storage type to use for the SR, XenServer uses the location device config parameter to decide the type.

Device-config parameters for ISO SRs on CIFS/SMB:

Parameter Name	Description	Required?
`location`	Path to the mount.	Yes
`type`	Storage type to use for the SR: For CIFS/SMB, set to `cifs`.	No
`vers`	For the storage type CIFS/SMB, the version of SMB to use: 1.0 or 3.0. The default is 3.0.	No
`username`	For the storage type CIFS/SMB, if a user name is required for the Windows file server.	No
`cifspassword_secret`	(Recommended) For the storage type CIFS/SMB, you can pass a secret instead of a password for the Windows file server.	No
`cifspassword`	For the storage type CIFS/SMB, if a password is required for the Windows file server. We recommend that you use the `cifspassword_secret` parameter instead.	No

Note:

When running the sr-create command, we recommend that you use the device-config:cifspassword_secret argument instead of specifying the password on the command line. For more information, see Secrets.

For more information about using the SMB SR type, see SMB storage.

Create an ISO SR on CIFS/SMB

xe CLI

We recommend that you use SMB version 3 to mount ISO SR on a Windows file server. Version 3 is selected by default because it is more secure and robust than SMB version 1.0.

Create an SMB version 3 ISO SR (using the recommended cifspassword_secret option) as

     xe secret-create description="SMB ISO SR" value=<password>
     xe sr-create content-type=iso type=iso shared=true device-config:location=<path_to_mount> \
     device-config:username=<username> device-config:cifspassword_secret=<uuid returned from secret-create> \
     device-config:type=cifs name-label="Example ISO SR"
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If SMB version 1 is required due to filer limitations, you can mount ISO SR using SMB version 1 using the following command:

     xe sr-create content-type=iso type=iso shared=true device-config:location=<path_to_mount> \
     device-config:username=<username> device-config:cifspassword=<password> \
     device-config:type=cifs device-config:vers=1.0 name-label="Example ISO SR"
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In XenCenter®

Open the New Storage Repository wizard: click New Storage on the toolbar.
Under ISO library, select Windows File Sharing (SMB/CIFS) as the storage type, then click Next.
On the Name page, enter the name of the new SR. By default, the wizard generates a description of the SR. This description includes a summary of the configuration options you select as you progress through the wizard. To enter your own description, clear the Auto-generate description check box and type in the Description box.

Click Next to continue.
On the Location page, specify the ISO storage target details:
- Share Name: For example, \\server\sharename where server is the DNS name or IP address of the server computer, and sharename is a folder or file name.
- Use different user name: If you want to connect to an SMB server using a different user name, select this check box and then enter your login user name and password.
Click Finish to complete the new SR configuration and close the wizard.

The official version of this content is in English. Some of the Cloud Software Group documentation content is machine translated for your convenience only. Cloud Software Group has no control over machine-translated content, which may contain errors, inaccuracies or unsuitable language. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability, suitability, or correctness of any translations made from the English original into any other language, or that your Cloud Software Group product or service conforms to any machine translated content, and any warranty provided under the applicable end user license agreement or terms of service, or any other agreement with Cloud Software Group, that the product or service conforms with any documentation shall not apply to the extent that such documentation has been machine translated. Cloud Software Group will not be held responsible for any damage or issues that may arise from using machine-translated content.

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ISO library on SMB/CIFS

November 14, 2025

Contributed by:

November 14, 2025

Contributed by:

ISO library on SMB/CIFS

Create an ISO SR on CIFS/SMB

xe CLI

In XenCenter®

In this article