Fedora™ Unleashed, 2008 edition

 browseable = yes
 create mode = 0700

The valid users entry limits userid to just ahudson. All other users can browse the directory because of the browseable = yes entry, but only ahudson can write to the directory. Any files created by ahudson in the directory give ahudson full permissions, but no one else will have access to the files. This is exactly the same as setting permissions with the chmod command. Again, there are numerous options, so you can be as creative as you want to when developing sections.

Setting Global Samba Behavior with the [global] Section

The [global] section establishes configuration settings for all of Samba. If a given para meter is not specifically set in another section, Samba uses the default setting in the [global] section. The [global] section also sets the general security configuration for Samba. The [global] section is the only section that does not require the name in brackets.

Samba assumes that anything before the first bracketed section not labeled [global] is part of the global configuration. (Using bracketed headings in /etc/samba/smb.conf makes your configuration file more readable.) The following sections discuss common Samba settings to share directories and printers. You will then see how to test your Samba configuration.

Sharing Home Directories Using the [homes] Section

The [homes] section shares out Fedora home directories for the users. The home directory is shared automatically when a user's Windows computer connects to the Linux server holding the home directory. The one problem with using the default configuration is that the user sees all the configuration files (such as .profile and others with a leading period in the filename) that he normally wouldn't see when logging on through Linux. One quick way to avoid this is to include a path option in the [homes] section. To use this solution, each user who requires a Samba share of his home directory needs a separate 'home directory' to act as his Windows home directory.

For example, this pseudo home directory could be a directory named share in each user's home directory on your Fedora system. You can specify the path option when using SWAT by using the %u option when specifying a path for the default homes shares. The complete path setting would be as follows:

/home/%u/share

This setting specifies that the directory named share under each user's directory is the shared Samba directory. The corresponding manual smb.conf setting to provide a separate 'home directory' looks like this:

[homes]
 comment = Home Directories
 path = /home/%u/share
 valid users = %S
 read only = No
 create mask = 0664
 directory mask = 0775
 browseable = No

If you have a default [homes] section, the share shows up in the user's Network Neighborhood as the user's name. When the user connects, Samba scans the existing sections in smb.conf for a specific instance of the user's home directory. If there is not one, Samba looks up the username in /etc/passwd. If the correct username and password have been given, the home directory listed in /etc/passwd is shared out at the user's home directory. Typically the [homes] section looks like this (the browseable = no entry prevents other users from being able to browse your home directory and using it is a good security practice):

[homes]
 browseable = no
 writable = yes

This example shares out the home directory and makes it writable to the user. Here's how you specify a separate Windows home directory for each user:

[homes]
 browseable = no
 writable = yes
 path = /path/to/windows/directories

Sharing Printers by Editing the [printers] Section

The [printers] section works much like the [homes] section, but defines shared printers for use on your network. If the section exists, users have access to any printer listed in your Fedora /etc/printcap file.

Like the [homes] section, when a print request is received, all the sections are scanned for the printer. If no share is found (and with careful naming, there should not be unless you create a section for a specific printer), the /etc/printcap file is scanned for the printer name that is then used to send the print request.

For printing to work properly, printing services must be set up correctly on your Fedora computer. A typical [printers] section looks like the following:

[printers]
 comment = Fedora Printers
 browseable = no
 printable = yes
 path = /var/spool/samba

The /var/spool/samba is a spool path set just for Samba printing.

Testing Samba with the testparm Command

After you have created your /etc/smb.conf file, you can check it for correctness. Do so with the testparm command. This command parses through your /etc/smb.conf file and checks for any syntax errors. If none are found, your configuration file will probably work correctly. It does not, however, guarantee that the services specified in the file will work. It is merely making sure that the file is correctly written.

As with all configuration files, if you are modifying an existing, working file, it is always prudent to copy the working file to a different location and modify that file. Then you can check the file with the testparm utility. The command syntax is as follows:

# testparm /path/to/smb.conf.back-up
Load smb config files from smb.conf.back-up
Processing section '[homes]'
Processing section '[printers]'
Loaded services file OK.

This output shows that the Samba configuration file is correct, and, as long as all the services are running correctly on your Fedora machine, Samba should be working correctly. Now copy your old smb.conf file to a new location, put the new one in its place, and restart Samba with the command /etc/init.d/smb restart. Your new or modified Samba configuration should now be in place.

Starting the smbd Daemon