| Lesson 3 | Installing and configuring a Samba server |
| Objective | Install and configure a Samba server. |
Installing and Configuring a Samba Server
You can install Samba either automatically or manually using Red Hat Linux. During installation, select DOS/Windows Connectivity to automatically install the Samba RPMs[1].
If you do not select this option, you can install them manually with the following RPMs:
You will need to replace
.
samba-(version).(arch).rpmsamba-client-(version).(arch).rpmsamba-common-(version).(arch).rpm
You will need to replace
(version) and (arch) with the latest version and architecture, respectively, from your Red Hat Linux CD-ROM. For example, the 2.0.7 Intel RPMs are samba-2.0.7.i386.rpm, samba-client-2.0.7.i386.rpm, and samba-common-2.0.7.i386.rpm
Configuring Samba
Once Samba is installed, you must configure it to your needs. To tailor Samba to your specifications, you will need to modify two major sections of
To familiarize yourself with Samba's configuration file, roll your mouse over the highlighted lines to see explanations for each main section of the file.
/etc/smb.conf, the Samba configuration file.
The first, called "global shares," affects Samba's overall behavior. The second, called simply "shares," affects only specific shared resources.To familiarize yourself with Samba's configuration file, roll your mouse over the highlighted lines to see explanations for each main section of the file.
- Every share's configuration begins with a string enclosed in square brackets. In this case, the global share's configuration follows [global]
- These are the global configuration options, specified using name = value syntax. Samba will set the given name's value to whatever follows the equal sign. Comment lines begin with a semi-colon(;) or a hash (#)
- Every share's configuration begins with a string enclosed in square brackets. In this case the home share's configuration follows [homes].
- These are the home share's configuration options, specified using name=value syntax. Samba will set the given name's value to whatever follows the equal sign. Comment lines begin with a semi-colon(;) or a hash #
Samba Configuration File
Some configuration options can appear in both the global and the specific share sections. When options appear in the global section, the option affects the entire program. When options appear in a specific share section, the option affects only that shared resource. Because Samba provides many configuration choices, you should read the entire smb.conf man page before modifying the default configuration. In the next lesson, you will learn about shares, homes, and printing.
Some configuration options can appear in both the global and the specific share sections. When options appear in the global section, the option affects the entire program. When options appear in a specific share section, the option affects only that shared resource. Because Samba provides many configuration choices, you should read the entire smb.conf man page before modifying the default configuration. In the next lesson, you will learn about shares, homes, and printing.
[1]RPM: An acronym for Red Hat Package Manager, RPMS is a standard source and binary distribution format.