Usage

Before starting with Steeltoe's Windows Network File Share library, you should already have a plan for interacting with the file system. Steeltoe only manages the connection to the file share.

Add NuGet References

To use the WindowsNetworkFileShare class, you need to add a reference to the Steeltoe.Common.Net NuGet package.

Managing the Connection

The state of the connection to the file share is managed through the lifecycle of WindowsNetworkFileShare. To open the connection, instantiate a WindowsFileShare:

using System.Net;
using Steeltoe.Common.Net;

var fileShare = new WindowsNetworkFileShare(@"\\server\path", new NetworkCredential("username", "password"));

The constructor opens the connection with the equivalent of the net use command.

To close the connection, call dispose on the WindowsNetworkFileShare:

fileShare.Dispose();

Because WindowsNetworkFileShare implements IDisposable, you can also manage the WindowsNetworkFileShare with a using statement:

using (new WindowsNetworkFileShare(@"\\server\path", new NetworkCredential("username", "password")))
{
    // Interact with an attached network share here.
}

Managing Credentials

Credentials are generally required for interacting with SMB shares. WindowsNetworkFileShare does not have an opinion on where those credentials are stored. However, as a general guideline, storing credentials with your application's code or standard configuration is not recommended. Consider using the CredHub Service Broker for storing and retrieving your credentials.

When used in conjunction with the Cloud Foundry Configuration Provider, you can access the values as follows:

dotnet add package Steeltoe.Configuration.CloudFoundry
dotnet add package Steeltoe.Common.Net

using System.Net;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Options;
using Steeltoe.Common.Net;
using Steeltoe.Configuration.CloudFoundry;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
builder.AddCloudFoundryConfiguration();
builder.Services.AddSingleton<CredentialsReader>();

var app = builder.Build();

var reader = app.Services.GetRequiredService<CredentialsReader>();
var credentials = reader.ReadCredentials();

using (new WindowsNetworkFileShare(@"\\server\path", credentials))
{
    // Interact with an attached network share here.
}

public sealed class CredentialsReader(IOptionsMonitor<CloudFoundryServicesOptions> optionsMonitor)
{
    public NetworkCredential ReadCredentials()
    {
        foreach (CloudFoundryService service in optionsMonitor.CurrentValue.GetServicesOfType("credhub"))
        {
            if (service.Name == "my-network-share")
            {
                string? username = service.Credentials["share-username"].Value;
                string? password = service.Credentials["share-password"].Value;

                return new NetworkCredential(username, password);
            }
        }

        throw new InvalidOperationException("No credentials found for 'my-network-share'");
    }
}