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In this post, we will together explore How to Install and Configure a Samba Server on Ubuntu or Debian systems
What is Samba?
Samba is an open-source software used for sharing files and printers between different computer systems, including those running Windows, Linux, and macOS operating systems. Samba allows non-Windows machines to act as Windows service servers in a network, providing network features similar to those of Windows-based machines.
Features of Samba:
- File and Folder Sharing: Samba enables you to share files and folders from Linux or Unix servers with Windows computers on the network.
- Printer Sharing: By using Samba, you can also share printers and network printers with Windows computers.
- Cross-platform Compatibility: Samba supports file and printer sharing between different operating systems, including Windows, Linux, macOS, and other Unix-based operating systems.
- Integration with Active Directory: Samba can integrate with Active Directory to manage access permissions and file sharing in large enterprise environments.
- Security: Samba provides security options such as user authentication, data encryption, and access restrictions based on permissions.
- User and Group Management: You can manage users and groups using Samba, similar to how you manage users on Windows machines.
Samba is a powerful tool for building and managing multi-platform computer networks, especially in mixed environments containing both Windows and Linux computers.
Prerequisites
- Operating system:
- Ubuntu
- Debian
- Debian-base
- User privileges: root or non-root user with sudo privileges
Read more
- How to Install and Configure NGINX server on Ubuntu/Debian
- Prometheus – Install and Configure Prometheus Server on Ubuntu/Debian
- How to Install and Configure Snipe-IT Tool on Ubuntu / Debian
Step-by-step Install and Configure Samba Server on Ubuntu or Debian
Step 1 – Update system
First, open a terminal window and execute the following command to update the repository for the system:
sudo apt update
Step 2 – Install Samba Server
After updating the system, execute the following to install the Samba server on your system:
sudo apt install -y samba
The installation process is complete. Execute the following command to start and enable the Samba service to allow it to start with the system every time it reboots:
sudo systemctl start smbd
sudo systemctl enable smbd
Check the status of the Samba service to ensure that its status is Active:
sudo systemctl status smbd
![](https://totatca.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/05.install-samba-on-ubuntu.jpg)
Step 3 – Configure Samba Server
To configure Samba, you need to edit the relevant settings in this file /etc/samba/smb.conf . Below is the default configuration file of Samba:
# # Sample configuration file for the Samba suite for Debian GNU/Linux. # # # This is the main Samba configuration file. You should read the # smb.conf(5) manual page in order to understand the options listed # here. Samba has a huge number of configurable options most of which # are not shown in this example # # Some options that are often worth tuning have been included as # commented-out examples in this file. # - When such options are commented with ";", the proposed setting # differs from the default Samba behaviour # - When commented with "#", the proposed setting is the default # behaviour of Samba but the option is considered important # enough to be mentioned here # # NOTE: Whenever you modify this file you should run the command # "testparm" to check that you have not made any basic syntactic # errors. #======================= Global Settings ======================= [global] ## Browsing/Identification ### # Change this to the workgroup/NT-domain name your Samba server will part of workgroup = WORKGROUP # server string is the equivalent of the NT Description field server string = %h server (Samba, Ubuntu) #### Networking #### # The specific set of interfaces / networks to bind to # This can be either the interface name or an IP address/netmask; # interface names are normally preferred ; interfaces = 127.0.0.0/8 eth0 # Only bind to the named interfaces and/or networks; you must use the # 'interfaces' option above to use this. # It is recommended that you enable this feature if your Samba machine is # not protected by a firewall or is a firewall itself. However, this # option cannot handle dynamic or non-broadcast interfaces correctly. ; bind interfaces only = yes #### Debugging/Accounting #### # This tells Samba to use a separate log file for each machine # that connects log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m # Cap the size of the individual log files (in KiB). max log size = 1000 # We want Samba to only log to /var/log/samba/log.{smbd,nmbd}. # Append syslog@1 if you want important messages to be sent to syslog too. logging = file # Do something sensible when Samba crashes: mail the admin a backtrace panic action = /usr/share/samba/panic-action %d ####### Authentication ####### # Server role. Defines in which mode Samba will operate. Possible # values are "standalone server", "member server", "classic primary # domain controller", "classic backup domain controller", "active # directory domain controller". # # Most people will want "standalone server" or "member server". # Running as "active directory domain controller" will require first # running "samba-tool domain provision" to wipe databases and create a # new domain. server role = standalone server obey pam restrictions = yes # This boolean parameter controls whether Samba attempts to sync the Unix # password with the SMB password when the encrypted SMB password in the # passdb is changed. unix password sync = yes # For Unix password sync to work on a Debian GNU/Linux system, the following # parameters must be set (thanks to Ian Kahan <<[email protected]> for # sending the correct chat script for the passwd program in Debian Sarge). passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u passwd chat = *Enter\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *Retype\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *password\supdated\ssuccessfully* . # This boolean controls whether PAM will be used for password changes # when requested by an SMB client instead of the program listed in # 'passwd program'. The default is 'no'. pam password change = yes # This option controls how unsuccessful authentication attempts are mapped # to anonymous connections map to guest = bad user ########## Domains ########### # # The following settings only takes effect if 'server role = classic # primary domain controller', 'server role = classic backup domain controller' # or 'domain logons' is set # # It specifies the location of the user's # profile directory from the client point of view) The following # required a [profiles] share to be setup on the samba server (see # below) ; logon path = \\%N\profiles\%U # Another common choice is storing the profile in the user's home directory # (this is Samba's default) # logon path = \\%N\%U\profile # The following setting only takes effect if 'domain logons' is set # It specifies the location of a user's home directory (from the client # point of view) ; logon drive = H: # logon home = \\%N\%U # The following setting only takes effect if 'domain logons' is set # It specifies the script to run during logon. The script must be stored # in the [netlogon] share # NOTE: Must be store in 'DOS' file format convention ; logon script = logon.cmd # This allows Unix users to be created on the domain controller via the SAMR # RPC pipe. The example command creates a user account with a disabled Unix # password; please adapt to your needs ; add user script = /usr/sbin/useradd --create-home %u # This allows machine accounts to be created on the domain controller via the # SAMR RPC pipe. # The following assumes a "machines" group exists on the system ; add machine script = /usr/sbin/useradd -g machines -c "%u machine account" -d /var/lib/samba -s /bin/false %u # This allows Unix groups to be created on the domain controller via the SAMR # RPC pipe. ; add group script = /usr/sbin/addgroup --force-badname %g ############ Misc ############ # Using the following line enables you to customise your configuration # on a per machine basis. The %m gets replaced with the netbios name # of the machine that is connecting ; include = /home/samba/etc/smb.conf.%m # Some defaults for winbind (make sure you're not using the ranges # for something else.) ; idmap config * : backend = tdb ; idmap config * : range = 3000-7999 ; idmap config YOURDOMAINHERE : backend = tdb ; idmap config YOURDOMAINHERE : range = 100000-999999 ; template shell = /bin/bash # Setup usershare options to enable non-root users to share folders # with the net usershare command. # Maximum number of usershare. 0 means that usershare is disabled. # usershare max shares = 100 # Allow users who've been granted usershare privileges to create # public shares, not just authenticated ones usershare allow guests = yes #======================= Share Definitions ======================= # Un-comment the following (and tweak the other settings below to suit) # to enable the default home directory shares. This will share each # user's home directory as \\server\username ;[homes] ; comment = Home Directories ; browseable = no # By default, the home directories are exported read-only. Change the # next parameter to 'no' if you want to be able to write to them. ; read only = yes # File creation mask is set to 0700 for security reasons. If you want to # create files with group=rw permissions, set next parameter to 0775. ; create mask = 0700 # Directory creation mask is set to 0700 for security reasons. If you want to # create dirs. with group=rw permissions, set next parameter to 0775. ; directory mask = 0700 # By default, \\server\username shares can be connected to by anyone # with access to the samba server. # Un-comment the following parameter to make sure that only "username" # can connect to \\server\username # This might need tweaking when using external authentication schemes ; valid users = %S # Un-comment the following and create the netlogon directory for Domain Logons # (you need to configure Samba to act as a domain controller too.) ;[netlogon] ; comment = Network Logon Service ; path = /home/samba/netlogon ; guest ok = yes ; read only = yes # Un-comment the following and create the profiles directory to store # users profiles (see the "logon path" option above) # (you need to configure Samba to act as a domain controller too.) # The path below should be writable by all users so that their # profile directory may be created the first time they log on ;[profiles] ; comment = Users profiles ; path = /home/samba/profiles ; guest ok = no ; browseable = no ; create mask = 0600 ; directory mask = 0700 [printers] comment = All Printers browseable = no path = /var/tmp printable = yes guest ok = no read only = yes create mask = 0700 # Windows clients look for this share name as a source of downloadable # printer drivers [print$] comment = Printer Drivers path = /var/lib/samba/printers browseable = yes read only = yes guest ok = no # Uncomment to allow remote administration of Windows print drivers. # You may need to replace 'lpadmin' with the name of the group your # admin users are members of. # Please note that you also need to set appropriate Unix permissions # to the drivers directory for these users to have write rights in it ; write list = root, @lpadmin
We will together explore how to configure the Samba server for specific use cases in the upcoming articles.
Step 4 – Adjust Firewall
If your firewall is enabled, you need to allow 139/tcp, 445/tcp, 137/udp, and 138/udp through the firewall using the following command:
Note: Skip this step if you are not using the UFW firewall on your system.
sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw allow 139/tcp
sudo ufw allow 445/tcp
sudo ufw allow 137/udp
sudo ufw allow 138/udp
sudo ufw reload
sudo ufw status
![](https://totatca.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/06.install-samba-on-ubuntu.jpg)
These ports are used for the following purposes:
- Port 139: Used for SMB (Server Message Block) – NetBIOS version over TCP/IP.
- Port 445: Used for SMB over TCP/IP.
- Ports 137 and 138: Used for NetBIOS Name Service and NetBIOS Datagram Service.
Conclusions
The installation and default configuration of the Samba server have been completed. In the upcoming articles, we will explore how to share folders for specific use cases together.
Thank you for reading