SAMBA is a file sharing server used to share files between Windows, Linux & Unix Systems. SMB stands for Server Message Block (proprietary protocol from Microsoft)
Steps to install and share a folder in linux to other OS over the network.
1 : Create a directory to host the data to share with other Operating Systems.
#mkdir /share
2 : Install Samba Server
#yum install samba
3 : Edit the the samba configuration file located at /etc/samba/smb.conf
#vi /etc/samba/smb.conf
———————–beside the word workgroup , specify the name of your networked workgroup——–
workgroup = office-network
———————Next provide a name for samba server, search for “server string”————–
server string = shared-folder
——–Next specify the sharing details, the folder to be shared. Users to whom the share must be accessible, specify read write permissions etc.————
[shared folder]
comment = “shared data for other OS users”
path = /share
valid users = client1 client2 client3
writable = no
privatable = no
browsable =yes
Save and exit the file
Synopsis of the above fields in the saved smb.conf file
[shared folder] –custom shared name for the network users to see
comment — comment for easy understanding of what is shared
path — folder which is shared
valid users – users specified here will have access to the shared folder
writable – write permissions specified to that particular user or not else only read copy permissions are available by default
Privatable –specifes if this folder is private
browsable –user has option to browse contents of that shared folder
4: Next users/password have to be created which have access to shared folder
#smbpasswd -a client1
#smbpasswd -a client2
#smbpasswd -a client3
5:Test your smb.conf configuration
#testparm
6:samba service has to be restarted and make the service persistent across reboot
#service smb restart
#chkconfig smb on
