Samba Server Configuration Tool

Tammy Fox

tfox@redhat.com


Table of Contents
Configuring Server Settings
Managing Samba Users
Adding a Share

Samba uses the SMB protocol to share files and printers across a network connection. Operating systems that support this protocol include Microsoft Windows (through its Network Neighborhood), OS/2, and Linux.

The Samba Server Configuration Tool is a graphical interface for managing Samba shares, users, and basic server settings. It modifies the configuration files in the /etc/samba/ directory. Any changes to these files not made using the application are preserved.

To use this application, you must be running the X Window System, have root privileges, and have the redhat-config-samba RPM package installed. To start the Samba Server Configuration Tool from the desktop, go to the Main Menu Button (on the Panel) => System Settings => Server Settings => Samba Server or type the command redhat-config-samba at a shell prompt (for example, in an XTerm or a GNOME terminal).

Figure 1. Samba Server Configuration Tool

NoteNote
 

The Samba Server Configuration Tool does not display shared printers or the default stanza that allows users to view their own home directories on the Samba server.

Configuring Server Settings

The first step in configuring a Samba server is to configure the basic settings for the server and a few security options. After starting the application, select Preferences => Server Settings from the pulldown menu. The Basic tab is displayed as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Configuring Basic Server Settings

On the Basic tab, specify which workgroup the computer should be in as well as a brief description of the computer. They correspond to the workgroup and server string options in smb.conf.

Figure 3. Configuring Security Server Settings

The Security tab contains the following options:

After clicking OK, the changes are written to the configuration file and the daemon is restart; thus, the changes take effect immediately.