---
title: "CTERA Edge Filer Connections vs. Sessions FAQ"
slug: "ctera-edge-filer-gateway-connections-vs-sessions"
description: "A connection represents a single PC connecting to a gateway.A session is created for each share browsed on the gateway.One case is multiple users logged in to the same PC."
updated: 2026-09-09T06:07:23Z
published: 2026-09-09T06:07:23Z
canonical: "kb.ctera.com/ctera-edge-filer-gateway-connections-vs-sessions"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kb.ctera.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What is the Difference Between CTERA Edge Filer Connections and Sessions

**Q**: Does a *connection* represent a single PC connecting to an edge filer? **A**: Normally, yes, with this PC possibly connecting to multiple shares on the edge filer.

**Q**: When can a single PC generate more than one connection? **A**: One case is multiple users logged in to the same PC, each one accessing the edge filer. This can happen on a PC used by multiple users, or an application running as a privileged user on the PC. Also, opening multiple connections for the same user on the same IP but on different ports (as a Citrix server might do) will also create multiple connections. A less common case is access to the same edge filer via both IP and name, for example, opening two Windows Explorer windows, one towards, for example, *mygateway.ctera.com*, and the other towards *192.168.10.12*, with both reaching the same device.

**Q**: What is a *session*? **A**: A session is created for each share browsed on the edge filer.

**Q**: I received error messages such as *CIFS connection has almost reached its limit* or *SMB connection dropped*. What does this mean? **A**: These error messages are due to nearing or exceeding the maximum number of connections for the edge filer.

**Q**: Can I review the currently active sessions on my edge filer? **A**: Yes. The edge filer user interface shows active sessions, in the **Configuration** tab under **Main > Activity** in the navigation pane.

**Q**: Is the maximum number of users specified in the edge filer datasheets the same as the connection limit? **A**: No. The premise is that not all users are connected and reading from the edge filer or writing to the edge filer at the same time.

## **Related Articles**

[](/v1/docs/ctera-edge-filer-gateway-configurations)[CTERA Edge Filer Configurations](/v1/docs/ctera-edge-filer-gateway-configurations) [](https://www.ctera.com/technology/cloud-storage-gateways/)