Basic samba server configuration

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Disable SELinux

To configure samba server on Linux machine first disable SELinux. Configuration of Samba with SELinux will be explored later.

Ensure samba packages have been installed

• Use command "rpm -qa | grep samba" to see which packages related to Samba are installed on current machine. At least samba-client and samba-common should be installed if you want to connect to Samba shares of Windows XP machines. For Windows 7 or Windows server 2008 one needs to upgrade to samba3x packages. Again if you also want to share files then 'samba3x' package is also required along with 'samba3x-client' client package. It makes sense to download 'samba3x-doc' package so that one can refer to samba documentation as and when required.

Configure samba server

Guest or anonymous access configuration

• In order to share files using "Samba server" on linux edit file '/etc/samba/smb.conf' and enter values for following parameters:

  workgroup = <workgroup to join>
  server string = <description of computer>
  netbios name = <name for computer>

• You can optionally comment 'server string' using ';' or '#' if you do not want to provide any description. Except parameters

  log file
  max log size
  security

  which are defined in [global] section comment everything else. Set security to 'share' and use default values for log file and its size.

• Create a folder which would be shared using samba. Do not create this folder in /home or in /root. You can create something like /samba_shared. Use 'chmod 755 <folder_path>'.
• Add following lines at end of smb.conf file:

  [<share_name>]
  path=<full_path_to_folder>
  read only = yes
  guest ok = yes

• For example:

  [samba_shared]
  path=/samba_shared
  read only = yes
  guest ok = yes

• Then use "service smb start" to start samba service.
• To test setup from Windows machine, go to windows machine and type "\\<IP address>" in run window. You should be able to see share with name you have specified in configuration file. You can go inside that folder without entering any username / password. But you would not be able to create any file or folder inside that share.
• To make a writable folder first use 'chmod 777 <folder_path>' and then edit 'smb.conf' to make

  read only = no".

  Then use 'service smb restart'. Now you should be able to create files in the shared folder.

• You can enable samba service to automatically run on start-up using 'chkconfig smb on'.
• Note that all this is alone not enough to make samba server appear when someone uses 'View Workgroup Computers' or tries 'nmblookup domain_name'. To make samba server respond to nmb queries we need to start nmb service.

  Note that there are two services 'smb' and 'nmb'. 'smb' listens on TCP port 139 and 445 and 'nmb' listens on UDP port 137 and 138. 'smb' service is required for sharing folders and 'nmb' is required to list server along with other workgroup computers and to be able to open computer using '\\<netbios_name>' instead of IP address.

  Hence you can also use 'service nmb start' and 'chkconfig nmb on'.

• Note that by default guest account has value nobody. That is by default samba guest users are mapped to Linux user nobody. If for some reason you want to change this then you can use configuration parameter

  guest account = <linux_user_name_to_use_for_guest_account>

  'guest ok' parameter is same as 'public' parameter and are significant only when 'security' parameter is set to value 'share'.

• We can use command

  testparm /etc/samba/smb.conf

  to check samba configuration file for syntax errors after modifying it and before restarting smb service.

This is very basic samba configuration. Samba can be connected to Windows domains or ldap servers. It can be used to share printers and can support very complex authentication / security settings. For more information refer to man pages and samba3x documentation available at /usr/share/doc/samb3x-doc-<version>

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