NFS isn't the only network file-sharing protocol available. Macintoshes often use AppleTalk, for instance, and Novell's IPX/SPX is a popular protocol stack with associated file-sharing tools. Perhaps the most common file-sharing tool for Linux, aside from NFS, is Samba, which implements the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol, which is also known as the Common Internet Filesystem (CIFS). Chapter 7, File and Printer Sharing via Samba, covers Samba configuration and use.
Samba provides everything needed for Linux to function as an SMB/CIFS server, so there's no kernel configuration required for this function. If you want Linux to be able to mount SMB/CIFS shares, though, you must activate the SMB File System Support option, which is roughly equivalent to NFS File System Support for NFS. Two suboptions (Use a Default NLS and Default Remote NLS Option) let Linux perform filename translations based on National Language Support (NLS) character sets. These options may be important if you use non-Roman alphabets like Cyrillic, or even extensions to the Roman alphabet as used by English, like characters that contain umlauts.
It's possible to use Linux as an SMB/CIFS client using the smbclient program, even if you don't activate Linux's SMB/CIFS kernel options. smbclient doesn't actually mount an SMB/CIFS share, though; it gives you access to the share using an FTP-like interface.
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