What potential issues can arise when trying to access a Windows file server from a Linux-based PHP script using UNC paths?

When trying to access a Windows file server from a Linux-based PHP script using UNC paths, potential issues can arise due to differences in file path formats between Windows and Linux. To solve this issue, you can use the `smbclient` command-line tool in PHP to connect to the Windows file server and access the files using the SMB protocol.

<?php

// Define the UNC path to the Windows file server shared folder
$unc_path = '\\\\server\\shared_folder\\';

// Use smbclient to list files in the shared folder
exec("smbclient -U username%password $unc_path -c 'ls'", $output);

// Output the list of files
foreach ($output as $file) {
    echo $file . PHP_EOL;
}

?>