Translations by Sukit Arseanrapoj

sudo /etc/init.d/samba restart

ubuntu-doc@lists.ubuntu.com (Ubuntu Documentation Project)

Ubuntu Server Guide

2007-09-30

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>.

<emphasis role="bold">Authentication and Access</emphasis>. Establishing the identity of a computer or user of the network and determining the information the computer or user is authorized to access using such principles and technologies as file permissions, group policies, and the Kerberos authentication service.

Fortunately, your Ubuntu system may provide all such facilities to Windows clients and share network resources among them. One of the principal pieces of software your Ubuntu system includes for Windows networking is the Samba suite of SMB server applications and tools.

This section of the <phrase>Ubuntu</phrase> Server Guide will introduce some of the common Samba use cases, and how to install and configure the necessary packages. Additional detailed documentation and information on Samba can be found on the <ulink url="http://www.samba.org">Samba website</ulink>.

Samba File Server

One of the most common ways to network Ubuntu and Windows computers is to configure Samba as a File Server. This section covers setting up a <application>Samba</application> server to share files with Windows clients.

The server will be configured to share files with any client on the network without prompting for a password. If your environment requires stricter Access Controls see <xref linkend="samba-fileprint-security"/>

Installation

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

sudo apt-get install samba

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.

This example uses <filename>/srv/samba/sharename</filename> because, according to the <emphasis>Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS)</emphasis>, <ulink url="http://www.pathname.com/fhs/pub/fhs-2.3.html#SRVDATAFORSERVICESPROVIDEDBYSYSTEM">/srv</ulink> is where site-specific data should be served. Technically Samba shares can be placed anywhere on the filesystem as long as the permissions are correct, but adhering to standards is recommended.

<emphasis>browsable:</emphasis> enables Windows clients to browse the shared directory using <application>Windows Explorer</application>.

<emphasis>guest ok:</emphasis> allows clients to connect to the share without supplying a password.

<emphasis>create mask:</emphasis> determines the permissions new files will have when created.

Now that <application>Samba</application> is configured, the directory needs to be created and the permissions changed. From a terminal enter:

sudo mkdir -p /srv/samba/share

sudo chown nobody.nogroup /srv/samba/share/

The <emphasis>-p</emphasis> switch tells mkdir to create the entire directory tree if it doesn't exist. Change the share name to fit your environment.

Finally, restart the <application>samba</application> services to enable the new configuration:

Once again, the above configuration gives all access to any client on the local network. For a more secure configuration see <xref linkend="samba-fileprint-security"/>.

From a Windows client you should now be able to browse to the Ubuntu file server and see the shared directory. To check that everything is working try creating a directory from Windows.

To create additional shares simply create new <emphasis>[dir]</emphasis> sections in <filename>/etc/samba/smb.conf</filename>, and restart <emphasis>Samba</emphasis>. Just make sure that the directory you want to share actually exists and the permissions are correct.

Resources

For in depth Samba configurations see the <ulink url="http://samba.org/samba/docs/man/Samba-HOWTO-Collection/">Samba HOWTO Collection</ulink>

The guide is also available in <ulink url="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0131882228">printed format</ulink>.