A CIFS share on a dedicated MTree has been configured on a Data Domain for the archive team, and the team's lead asks how readiness will be proven before anyone commits production data. What is the correct bring-up test?

CIFS access stands on a stack of independently configurable pieces: the CIFS service enabled, the appliance joined to the domain or configured for its authentication mode, a share bound to the right MTree path, and share and file permissions granted to the application's account. A write and a read-back performed with the production service account through the production share touch every layer at once - authentication proves the account, a successful write proves the authorization, and an intact read-back proves the data path - and the archive team can rerun the same round trip themselves, which turns the result into their evidence too. The service-enabled view is one layer of the stack: an enabled service with a broken domain join or missing share permissions still rejects every client. A share listing proves the namespace exists but skips both authentication and writing - the two failure areas that actually generate post-go-live tickets. Outbound network tests from the appliance point the wrong direction: file clients connect inbound to the share, and even perfect reachability says nothing about whether the account is accepted. Exam caveat: test against the exact share path and account the application will use - a round trip through a different share or an administrator login proves nothing about production. Operational check: the archive team writes and reads back a test file with matching checksums, and the exchange is logged on the acceptance sheet.