How to Install and Configure Samba on Ubuntu

Samba is an opensource program that was developed for file sharing and printing over network using SMB protocol. Now a days it is basically used for providing Linux file system shares to accessible on Windows systems.

This tutorial will help you step by step guide to install and configure Samba server on Ubuntu to share files and folders across different computers on a network. The steps are simple and written in easy-to-understand language, so anyone can follow along.

Step-by-Step Guide to Install and Configure Samba

Follow the below steps to complete setup for a working Samba server on your Debian based systems.

Step 1: Update Your System

Before you begin, make sure your system is up to date. Open a terminal and run these commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

This will make sure that your system has the latest security patches and software versions.

Step 2: Install Samba

The samba packages are available under default repositories in all Debian based operating systems. Once your system is updated, you can install Samba by using the following command:

sudo apt install samba

This command installs the Samba server and client packages on your Ubuntu machine.

Step 3: Check Samba Status

After installation, you can check if the Samba service is running the following command:

sudo systemctl status smbd

If Samba is running, you’ll see something like “active (running)”. If it’s not running, you can start it using:

sudo systemctl start smbd

Also make sure that Samba service starts automatically every time your system boots, use:

sudo systemctl enable smbd

Step 4: Backup the Samba Configuration File

Before making any changes to the configuration file, it’s a good idea to create a backup. This way, if something goes wrong, you can restore the original settings.

To back up the file, run this command:

sudo cp /etc/samba/smb.conf /etc/samba/smb.conf.backup

Now you have a backup of your Samba configuration file.

Step 5: Edit the Samba Configuration File

You will need to edit the Samba configuration file to define the shared folders and settings.
Open the file in a text editor like nano:

sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

You’ll see many lines in this file, but don’t worry. You’ll only need to change a few sections to get Samba working as below:

1. Set Workgroup and Server String: In the [global] section, configure the following basic settings

   
   [global]
   workgroup = WORKGROUP         # Set this to match your network's workgroup (default is WORKGROUP).
   server string = Samba Server   # Description of your server
   
   

2. Networking Settings: Ensure Samba is listening on the correct network interfaces. By default, it should listen on all interfaces. However, you can specify particular ones

   
   interfaces = lo eth0           # Replace 'eth0' with your network interface
   bind interfaces only = yes
   
   

3. Set Permissions and Access Control: Decide on the security mode. For a simple setup, user mode is commonly used, which allows only authenticated users

   
   security = user
   
   

4. Enable Samba Logging (Optional): Logging can help with troubleshooting if issues arise

   
   log file = /var/log/samba/%m.log
   max log size = 50
   
   

Step 6: Create a Shared Folder

Let’s say you want to share a folder called shared. First, create the folder by running this command:

sudo mkdir /srv/samba/shared

Change the folder’s permissions so others can access it:

sudo chmod 777 /srv/samba/shared

This makes the folder accessible to everyone on the network.

Step 7: Add the Shared Folder to the Samba Configuration

Now, go back to the configuration file (/etc/samba/smb.conf), scroll to the bottom, and add this block of text to define the shared folder:

[shared]
    path = /srv/samba/shared
    browsable = yes
    writable = yes
    guest ok = yes
    read only = no

Here’s what these settings mean:

• path: The folder you’re sharing.
• browsable: This makes the folder visible to others on the network.
• writable: Allows other users to write files to this folder.
• guest ok: Allows access without a username or password.
• read only: Set to “no” so that people can write files to the folder.

Step 8: Create a Samba User

To secure your shared folder, you might want to create a Samba user. This ensures that only specific people can access the shared folder.

1. First, create a system user (if you don’t already have one):

   sudo adduser sambauser
   

2. Now, create a Samba password for this user:

   sudo smbpasswd -a sambauser
   

   You will be asked to enter and confirm the password. This will create the user to the Samba database.

Step 9: Restart Samba

Whenever you make changes to the configuration file, you need to restart Samba for the changes to take effect. But before restarting it check the Samba configuration file using following command:

testparm

This will check Samba configuration file and display parameters on console. Once you see “Loaded services file OK” in output, restart Samba service using the following command.

sudo systemctl restart smbd

Step 10: Allow Samba Through the Firewall

If you have a firewall enabled, you’ll need to allow Samba traffic through the firewall. You can do this by running:

sudo ufw allow samba

This will open the necessary ports for Samba.

Step 11: Access Samba Share from Remote Computer

• From a Windows Computer:

  1. Open “File Explorer”.
  2. In the address bar, type \\<your-ubuntu-ip-address>\shared and press Enter.
  3. If you set up a user, you’ll be prompted to enter the username and password (e.g., sambauser and the password you created).

• From Another Linux Computer:

  1. Open the file manager.
  2. Go to “Network”.
  3. Look for your Ubuntu computer in the list.
  4. Open the shared folder (shared), and enter the username and password if prompted.

Step 12: Secure the Samba Share

If you don’t want everyone on your network to access the folder, you can disable guest access by setting guest ok = no in the configuration file.

If you want to restrict access to only certain users, add this line to the share configuration:

valid users = sambauser

This will ensure that only the user sambauser can access the shared folder.

Conclusion

You have successfully installed and configured Samba on your Ubuntu system. Now, you can share files between your Ubuntu machine and other devices on your network, such as Windows and Linux computers.

With Samba, file sharing between different operating systems becomes easy and convenient! If you need more advanced features, Samba offers many more options that you can explore in its configuration file.