How to Check SMB Share Availability Type in Windows 11

Learn how to check SMB share availability type in Windows 11 using PowerShell, identify clustered and non-clustered shares, and troubleshoot SMB configurations.

If you manage file sharing on Windows 11, checking whether an SMB share is a regular local share or associated with a clustered configuration can help you understand how that share is designed to operate. Windows provides the Get-SmbShare PowerShell cmdlet for inspecting SMB share properties, including the AvailabilityType property.

The AvailabilityType property describes the availability configuration associated with an SMB share. Depending on the environment, you may see values such as NonClustered, Clustered, ScaleOut, CSV, or DFS.

In this guide, you will learn how to check SMB share availability type in Windows 11, inspect individual shares, filter shares by availability type, export the results, and understand how this property relates to other SMB settings.

What Is SMB Share Availability Type?

SMB share availability type describes the type of server or storage configuration associated with an SMB share. It is particularly useful in environments that use Windows Server failover clustering, Scale-Out File Server configurations, Cluster Shared Volumes, or DFS-related configurations.

On a typical standalone Windows 11 computer, most ordinary SMB shares will generally appear as NonClustered. That does not mean the share is unavailable. It means the share is not identified as belonging to one of the clustered availability types exposed by the SMB share management interface.

Microsoft documents the AvailabilityType values supported by Get-SmbShare as NonClustered, Clustered, ScaleOut, CSV, and DFS.

Why Check SMB Availability Type?

Checking AvailabilityType can be useful when troubleshooting network shares or documenting a Windows file server.

• Identify whether an SMB share is a normal non-clustered share.
• Determine whether a share is associated with a clustered environment.
• Identify Scale-Out File Server related shares.
• Identify shares associated with Cluster Shared Volumes.
• Identify DFS-related SMB share configurations.
• Understand why a share may have high-availability-related properties.
• Document SMB share configuration before making changes.
• Compare availability configuration across multiple shares.

Availability type should not be confused with the current operational state of a share. For example, AvailabilityType and ShareState answer different questions. You can review the current state of an SMB share in our guide to checking SMB Share State in Windows 11.

Open PowerShell in Windows 11

You can use Windows PowerShell or PowerShell to inspect SMB shares. For the most reliable results when managing server-side SMB configuration, open PowerShell with administrative privileges.

1. Press Windows + X.
2. Select Terminal (Admin) or PowerShell (Admin).
3. Approve the User Account Control prompt if requested.

You can then use the SMB PowerShell module to query the shares configured on the computer.

Check SMB Share Availability Type

The simplest command is:

Get-SmbShare

This displays the SMB shares detected by the computer. Depending on the PowerShell version and console width, not every property will necessarily be displayed in the default table view.

To specifically display the availability type, use:

Get-SmbShare | Select-Object Name, Path, AvailabilityType

A result may look similar to this:

Name        Path                 AvailabilityType
----        ----                 ----------------
Documents   C:\Shares\Documents  NonClustered
Projects    D:\Shares\Projects   NonClustered
Finance     D:\Shares\Finance    NonClustered

The exact results depend on the SMB shares configured on your computer.

Check One SMB Share

If you already know the name of the share, you can query only that share.

Get-SmbShare -Name "Projects" | Select-Object Name, Path, AvailabilityType

This is useful when a computer has many shares and you only want to inspect one configuration.

For example:

Name      Path              AvailabilityType
----      ----              ----------------
Projects  D:\Shares\Projects NonClustered

Remember that the share name is not necessarily the same as the physical folder name. The Name property identifies the SMB share, while Path identifies the underlying local path.

View All Properties of an SMB Share

If you are troubleshooting an advanced SMB environment, checking only AvailabilityType may not provide enough information.

You can display all available properties with:

Get-SmbShare -Name "Projects" | Format-List *

Microsoft's documentation demonstrates that an SMB share object can expose properties including ShareState, AvailabilityType, FolderEnumerationMode, CachingMode, CATimeout, ConcurrentUserLimit, ContinuouslyAvailable, EncryptData, Name, Path, and other information.

This makes Format-List * particularly useful when you need to understand the complete configuration of a share rather than a single property.

Understand the AvailabilityType Values

NonClustered

NonClustered represents a normal SMB share that is not associated with a clustered availability configuration.

This is the value you are most likely to encounter on an ordinary Windows 11 computer used as a simple file-sharing host.

For example:

Name       AvailabilityType
----       ----------------
Documents  NonClustered

A NonClustered share can still be accessed by multiple network clients. The value does not mean that the share supports only one user or that it is offline.

Clustered

Clustered identifies an SMB share associated with a clustered configuration.

Clustered file-server environments can provide higher availability by using multiple nodes and shared or coordinated resources. This type of configuration is more commonly encountered on Windows Server infrastructure than on a standard Windows 11 workstation.

If you see Clustered, it is useful to investigate the surrounding failover-cluster configuration rather than treating the share as an ordinary standalone share.

ScaleOut

ScaleOut indicates a Scale-Out File Server-related availability configuration.

Scale-Out File Server architectures are designed for workloads that require highly available file services and the ability to distribute SMB workloads across multiple nodes.

This is an advanced Windows Server scenario. A regular Windows 11 desktop or laptop normally will not require this configuration.

CSV

CSV refers to Cluster Shared Volume-related availability. Cluster Shared Volumes are used in Windows failover cluster environments and can provide shared storage access for clustered workloads.

If an SMB share reports CSV, the share should be considered part of a more advanced clustered storage architecture.

DFS

DFS identifies a share associated with Distributed File System-related configuration.

DFS can be used to provide a logical namespace for accessing shared folders across multiple servers. When investigating a DFS-related environment, you may need to examine both the SMB share configuration and the broader DFS configuration.

Find All Non-Clustered SMB Shares

You can filter the results using Where-Object.

Get-SmbShare |
Where-Object {$_.AvailabilityType -eq "NonClustered"} |
Select-Object Name, Path, AvailabilityType

This is useful when you want to create a quick inventory of ordinary SMB shares.

Find Clustered SMB Shares

To find shares identified as clustered, use:

Get-SmbShare |
Where-Object {$_.AvailabilityType -eq "Clustered"} |
Select-Object Name, Path, AvailabilityType

If no results are returned, there may simply be no shares of that availability type on the computer being queried.

Find Scale-Out SMB Shares

You can also search specifically for Scale-Out shares:

Get-SmbShare |
Where-Object {$_.AvailabilityType -eq "ScaleOut"} |
Select-Object Name, Path, AvailabilityType

This can be useful when documenting a Windows Server environment or troubleshooting a high-availability SMB deployment.

Find DFS-Related SMB Shares

To filter for shares reporting a DFS availability type:

Get-SmbShare |
Where-Object {$_.AvailabilityType -eq "DFS"} |
Select-Object Name, Path, AvailabilityType

Do not interpret this result as a complete inventory of every DFS namespace or DFS configuration. The command is specifically examining the SMB share objects returned by Get-SmbShare.

Check Availability Type Together With Share State

Availability type becomes more useful when compared with the current SMB share state.

Get-SmbShare |
Select-Object Name, Path, AvailabilityType, ShareState, CurrentUsers

This allows you to see several important properties together.

Property	What It Tells You
Name	The SMB share name.
Path	The local folder path exposed by the share.
AvailabilityType	The availability or cluster-related type reported for the share.
ShareState	The current state of the SMB share.
CurrentUsers	The current number of users connected to the share.

For example, a share can be NonClustered and Online at the same time. These properties describe different aspects of the share.

Compare Availability Type With Continuous Availability

Another important distinction is between AvailabilityType and ContinuouslyAvailable.

AvailabilityType describes the availability configuration associated with the SMB share, while ContinuouslyAvailable indicates whether the share supports continuous availability.

You can compare them with:

Get-SmbShare |
Select-Object Name, Path, AvailabilityType, ContinuouslyAvailable

This distinction is important when troubleshooting failover or high-availability behavior. A share should not be assumed to be continuously available simply because its availability type looks advanced.

For a deeper look at the ContinuouslyAvailable property, see our guide to checking SMB Continuous Availability in Windows 11.

Compare Availability Type With Other SMB Settings

You can build a broader SMB configuration report by combining several properties:

Get-SmbShare |
Select-Object Name,
Path,
AvailabilityType,
ShareState,
ContinuouslyAvailable,
CachingMode,
LeasingMode,
FolderEnumerationMode,
EncryptData,
CompressData

This is useful when performing a configuration audit.

For example, you can compare availability with:

• SMB share state
• Continuous Availability
• SMB caching mode
• SMB leasing mode
• Folder enumeration mode
• SMB encryption
• SMB compression

These settings serve different purposes, so changing one property should not automatically be expected to change the others.

Export SMB Availability Information to CSV

If you are documenting a Windows computer or troubleshooting several shares, exporting the results can be convenient.

Get-SmbShare |
Select-Object Name, Path, AvailabilityType, ShareState, CurrentUsers |
Export-Csv "$env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\smb-availability.csv" -NoTypeInformation

This creates a CSV file on the current user's desktop.

You can open the file with Microsoft Excel or another spreadsheet application and use it as a simple SMB share inventory.

Check SMB Availability Type on a Remote Computer

Get-SmbShare can also work with a CIM session. This can be useful for administrators who need to inspect SMB shares on another Windows computer.

First create a CIM session:

$session = New-CimSession -ComputerName "FILESERVER"

Then query the SMB shares:

Get-SmbShare -CimSession $session |
Select-Object Name, Path, AvailabilityType

Replace FILESERVER with the appropriate computer name.

When finished, remove the CIM session:

Remove-CimSession $session

Remote management depends on the configuration and permissions of the target computer. If the connection fails, investigate Windows Remote Management, firewall rules, credentials, and network connectivity rather than assuming that the SMB share itself is the problem.

Availability Type vs. SMB Permissions

Availability type does not tell you which users are allowed to access a share.

For example, an SMB share may report:

AvailabilityType : NonClustered
ShareState        : Online

That does not mean every network user can access it.

Access is also affected by SMB share permissions and NTFS permissions. To inspect the SMB share access control list, use:

Get-SmbShareAccess -Name "Projects"

You can also review our detailed guide to checking SMB share permissions in Windows 11.

Availability Type vs. Folder Enumeration

Folder enumeration controls what users can see inside an SMB share based on the configured enumeration mode. It does not determine whether a share is clustered or non-clustered.

You can inspect both properties with:

Get-SmbShare |
Select-Object Name, Path, AvailabilityType, FolderEnumerationMode

For more information, see our guide to checking SMB Folder Enumeration Mode in Windows 11.

Availability Type vs. SMB Caching

SMB caching is another separate share property. It controls caching behavior associated with the SMB share and should not be confused with cluster availability.

Get-SmbShare |
Select-Object Name, AvailabilityType, CachingMode

You can learn more in our guide to checking SMB Share Caching Mode in Windows 11.

Availability Type vs. SMB Leasing

SMB leasing is related to client-side caching and file access performance. It is different from the availability type of the share.

To compare both properties:

Get-SmbShare |
Select-Object Name, AvailabilityType, LeasingMode

For a detailed explanation of leasing, see How to Check SMB Leasing in Windows 11.

Troubleshooting SMB Availability Type Problems

If the availability type looks unexpected, avoid changing the configuration immediately. First collect information about the environment.

1. Check the Complete Share Configuration

Get-SmbShare -Name "Projects" | Format-List *

Look at AvailabilityType, ShareState, ContinuouslyAvailable, CATimeout, and other relevant properties.

2. Check Current SMB Sessions

Get-SmbSession

This helps determine whether clients are actively connected to the SMB server.

3. Check SMB Connections

Get-SmbConnection

Client-side connections can provide additional information about active SMB access.

4. Check Open SMB Files

Get-SmbOpenFile

This can help identify files currently being accessed through SMB.

You can also read our guide to checking open SMB files in Windows 11.

5. Check the SMB Server Configuration

Get-SmbServerConfiguration

Server-wide SMB settings can affect how file sharing operates. See How to Check SMB Server Configuration in Windows 11 for a detailed overview.

6. Do Not Change Cluster Settings Without Understanding the Environment

Clustered SMB configurations can involve failover clustering, shared storage, clustered file-server roles, or other infrastructure components. If a share is reporting an advanced availability type, changing unrelated SMB properties without understanding the underlying architecture can make troubleshooting more difficult.

Useful PowerShell Commands

Purpose	Command
List SMB shares	Get-SmbShare
Check availability type	Get-SmbShare | Select Name,AvailabilityType
Check one share	Get-SmbShare -Name "Projects"
View all share properties	Get-SmbShare -Name "Projects" | Format-List *
Find clustered shares	Get-SmbShare | Where {$_.AvailabilityType -eq "Clustered"}
Check share state	Get-SmbShare | Select Name,ShareState
Check share permissions	Get-SmbShareAccess -Name "Projects"
Check SMB sessions	Get-SmbSession
Check SMB connections	Get-SmbConnection
Check open files	Get-SmbOpenFile

Frequently Asked Questions

What is AvailabilityType in SMB?

AvailabilityType is an SMB share property that identifies the availability or cluster-related type reported for the share. Microsoft documents values including NonClustered, Clustered, ScaleOut, CSV, and DFS.

What AvailabilityType should a normal Windows 11 PC have?

A normal standalone Windows 11 computer commonly uses NonClustered SMB shares. Advanced values are generally associated with more specialized server or clustered configurations.

Does NonClustered mean the SMB share is unavailable?

No. NonClustered describes the share's availability configuration, not whether the share is currently online. Check ShareState to determine the current share state.

Can I change AvailabilityType with Set-SmbShare?

You should not treat AvailabilityType as a normal setting to change casually. It describes the availability configuration of the share and can be tied to the underlying clustered architecture. First determine why the share has its current value and understand the server configuration before making infrastructure changes.

How do I check SMB availability type with PowerShell?

Use:

Get-SmbShare | Select-Object Name, Path, AvailabilityType

For one share:

Get-SmbShare -Name "Projects" | Select-Object Name, Path, AvailabilityType

Does AvailabilityType control SMB permissions?

No. SMB access is controlled by share permissions and NTFS permissions. Availability type describes the share's availability or cluster-related configuration.

Final Thoughts

Checking SMB Share Availability Type is a useful step when investigating Windows file-sharing configurations, especially when working with advanced Windows Server environments.

The Get-SmbShare cmdlet makes it easy to inspect the AvailabilityType property and compare it with other SMB settings such as ShareState, ContinuouslyAvailable, CachingMode, LeasingMode, and FolderEnumerationMode.

For a typical Windows 11 computer, seeing NonClustered is normal. If you encounter Clustered, ScaleOut, CSV, or DFS, treat the result as a clue about the underlying file-sharing architecture and investigate the surrounding configuration before making changes.

For a broader SMB troubleshooting workflow, you can also review our guides for SMB Share State, SMB Concurrent User Limit, SMB Continuous Availability, SMB Compression, and SMB Encryption.