{"id":12989,"date":"2018-02-07T10:14:51","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T10:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.process.st\/templates\/linux-samba-file-server-setup-checklist\/"},"modified":"2024-02-28T20:46:22","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T20:46:22","slug":"linux-samba-file-server-setup-checklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.process.st\/templates\/linux-samba-file-server-setup-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"Linux Samba File Server Setup Checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Introduction:<\/h2>\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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While the back end of an office might be pure Linux, the machines that see daily use by employees probably aren't. Without a file server, it's difficult to make Linux and Windows computers share files nicely.<\/p>\n

he solution is to install Samba<\/a> on a server, and store the files that should be shared on that server, in a shared folder. These files can be added to or updated by connecting to the server with SSH, FTP, or (once set up) directly through Samba.<\/p>\n

We'll go through SSH in this guide but to use FTP in the future see this guide<\/a> to setting up an FTP server.<\/p>\n

Samba was created in 1992 and released under the GNU license. It has remained an important part of seamlessly integrating computers ever since.<\/p>\n

When the server is set up, you'll see your Samba server files on any authorized machine on the network, like this:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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Establish SSH connection with the server<\/h2>\n
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In this checklist, you're going to control the server remotely through an SSH connection.<\/p>\n

Input your server's IP and root username below \u2014 we're going to autofill it throughout the checklist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In a remote terminal:<\/p>\n

$ ssh {{form.Server_root_username}}@{{form.Server_IP}}<\/pre>\n
This will prompt you for the root password, and then establish an SSH connection:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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  <\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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Install Samba<\/h2>\n
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Before installing any packages on the server, you should run:<\/p>\n
$ sudo apt-get update\n\n$ sudo apt-get upgrade<\/pre>\n
This will refresh the package list, and then install any updates necessary.<\/p>\n
After that's complete, install Samba:<\/p>\n
$ sudo apt-get install samba samba-common-bin<\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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Create a shared folder<\/h2>\n
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You don't want to share everything by default, so make a new shared folder where you can put everything you want to be accessible over the network.<\/p>\n
$ sudo mkdir -m 1777 \/share<\/pre>\n
This creates a directory called 'share' in root.<\/p>\n
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If you already have a share folder, then you'll instead need to update its permissions:<\/p>\n
$ sudo chmod -R 1777 \/share<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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Edit Samba configuration file<\/h2>\n
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Open the Samba configuration file with nano:<\/p>\n
$ sudo nano \/etc\/samba\/smb.conf<\/pre>\n
Append this block at the bottom of the file:<\/p>\n
[share]\nComment = shared folder\nPath = \/share\nBrowseable = yes\nWriteable = Yes\nonly guest = no\ncreate mask = 0777\ndirectory mask = 0777\nPublic = yes\nGuest ok = yes<\/pre>\n
Press CTRL+O, then enter, and CTRL+X to save and quit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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Set a password<\/h2>\n
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Generate a strong password by getting the output of this openssl rand function command (replace 14 with the number of characters to output):<\/p>\n
$ openssl rand -base64 14<\/pre>\n
Copy the password to your clipboard, and then:<\/p>\n
$ sudo smbpasswd -a\u00a0{{form.Server_root_username}}<\/pre>\n
Save your server's password in a password manager.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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Restart the server<\/h2>\n
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Restart the server to apply the changes you made to the configuration file:<\/p>\n
$ sudo \/etc\/init.d\/samba restart<\/pre>\n<\/div>\n
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  <\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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Test access<\/h2>\n
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Accessing the file server on Windows<\/h5>\n
The server should be visible in the Network pane of Windows Explorer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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  <\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Accessing the file server on Mac<\/h5>\n
Your shiny Samba server is located in the left sidebar of Finder.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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  <\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Accessing the file server on Linux<\/h5>\n
Similar to Windows and Mac, the server will show up under Network in the file browser.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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  <\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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Configure user access<\/h2>\n
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The Samba config file, located at \/etc\/samba\/smb.conf, has everything you need to control directory access and user permissions for your office.<\/p>\n
Edit it:<\/p>\n
$ sudo nano \/etc\/samba\/smb.conf<\/pre>\n
For example, to give the user Ben access to his own folder, you'd add this to the configuration file:<\/p>\n
[ben]\n        path = \/home\/ben\n        comment = Ben's home directory\n        writable = yes\n        valid users = ben<\/pre>\n
To give the sales organization their own shared folder with one member as the admin, you'd add this:<\/p>\n
[sales]\n        path = \/home\/sales\n        comment = Sedona Real Estate Sales Data\n        writable = yes\n        valid users = sofie shelby adilia\n        admin users = mike<\/pre>\n
To read more about setting up user permissions, read this doc<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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Sources:<\/h2>\n
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