Patent ID: 8332526

Claim:
In a network computing environment, a computer-implemented method for accessing a file from a file server, the method comprising: sending a communication from a client to a file server using a first dialect of a data communication protocol and containing an indication that the client also supports a second dialect of the data communication protocol, wherein the communication is a first communication in a session setup between the client and the file server to allow the client to access files stored on the file server; receiving a response from the file server formatted according to a selected dialect of the data communication protocol, wherein the selected dialect of the data communication protocol is the first dialect of the data communication protocol used by the client to send the communication when the file server is incapable of communicating using the second dialect of the data communication protocol, and wherein the selected dialect of the data communication protocol is the second dialect of the data communication protocol when the file server is capable of and prefers communicating using the second dialect of the data communication protocol; invoking a driver for handling the response formatted according to the selected dialect of the data communication protocol and one or more additional responses from the file server; sending a second communication formatted according to the selected dialect of the data communication protocol from the client to the file server for authenticating the client; and sending a third communication formatted according to the selected dialect of the data communication protocol from the client to the file server, the third communication requesting access to a file on the file server.