Why do CIFS mounts disconnect after an idle period?

Solution Verified - Updated -

Issue

  • CIFS mounts disconnecting after an period of idleness, why?
  • After period of low activity the SMB share "hangs" when accessed via a df or ls or any other commands.
  • The hang resolves itself after several minutes.
  • During the issue the Windows File Server does not report a CIFS session from the application. When the issue is resolved, a session is reported.
  • The current workaround is to touch or create a file every two minutes or so to maintain the CIFS session.
  • CIFS mounts show a DISCONNECTED state in debugging
  • CIFS filesystems hang in disconnected state
  • CIFS filesystems routinely go into a DISCONNECTED state. Most of the time when they become active again, the reconnect just fine. But sometimes they don't and all commands hang.
  • CIFS Mount hangs on this server and is fine when it is unmounted and mounted again

Environment

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux as CIFS Client
  • Windows SMB file sharing server

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