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Ubuntu Server Guide

Windows Networking

Computer networks are often comprised of diverse systems, and while operating a network made up entirely of Ubuntu desktop and server computers would certainly be fun, some network environments must consist of both Ubuntu and <trademark class="registered">Microsoft</trademark><trademark class="registered">Windows</trademark> systems working together in harmony. This section of the <phrase>Ubuntu</phrase> Server Guide introduces principles and tools used in configuring your Ubuntu Server for sharing network resources with Windows computers.

Successfully networking your Ubuntu system with Windows clients involves providing and integrating with services common to Windows environments. Such services assist the sharing of data and information about the computers and users involved in the network, and may be classified under three major categories of functionality:

<emphasis role="bold">File and Printer Sharing Services</emphasis>. Using the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol to facilitate the sharing of files, folders, volumes, and the sharing of printers throughout the network.

<emphasis role="bold">Directory Services</emphasis>. Sharing vital information about the computers and users of the network with such technologies as the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) and Microsoft <trademark class="registered">Active Directory</trademark>.

Samba File Server

Installation

The first step is to install the <application>samba</application> package. From a terminal prompt enter:

That's all there is to it; you are now ready to configure Samba to share files.

Configuration

The main Samba configuration file is located in <filename>/etc/samba/smb.conf</filename>. The default configuration file has a significant amount of comments in order to document various configuration directives.

Not all the available options are included in the default configuration file. See the <filename>smb.conf</filename><application>man</application> page or the <ulink url="http://samba.org/samba/docs/man/Samba-HOWTO-Collection/">Samba HOWTO Collection</ulink> for more details.

First, edit the following key/value pairs in the <emphasis>[global]</emphasis> section of <filename>/etc/samba/smb.conf</filename>:

workgroup = EXAMPLE ... security = user

The <emphasis>security</emphasis> parameter is farther down in the [global] section, and is commented by default. Also, change <emphasis>EXAMPLE</emphasis> to better match your environment.

Create a new section at the bottom of the file, or uncomment one of the examples, for the directory to be shared:

[share] comment = Ubuntu File Server Share path = /srv/samba/share browsable = yes guest ok = yes read only = no create mask = 0755

<emphasis>comment:</emphasis> a short description of the share. Adjust to fit your needs.

<emphasis>path:</emphasis> the path to the directory to share.

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