SAMBA => Getting Win2000 Pro to access Fedora Core 3 server

[midnightowner 0]

Have Fedora Core 3 (open source distro based on Red Hat) and am using it as a test server of sorts. Have installed SAMBA so that it can communicate with the Win2000 network. Although I can get FC3 to print to network printers and actually see computers in the network, I cannot get my Win2000 client to access the FC3 computer (that is, see the directories).

 

If I go into My Network Places I can see the server, just can't access its contents. Ugh.

 

Have looked in various manuals. Still puzzled. Seems like a permissions problem to me but I can't resolve whether or not it is a problem on the Windows or Linux side of the equation.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

 

[Jerry Atrik 0]

i did the same thing on mandrake and found i had to create shares in linux just like windows.

[BSchindler 0]

Hi Midnightowner,

 

A couple of things have to be setup correctly on both the Windows box and the Linux server running Samba.

 

Try the following configuration (Note, that all the lines which have C style commenting i.e., // on the lines are my comments. The actual lines do NOT have comments so you must NOT put comments like these on these lines.)

 

Also, your workgroup probably is not PROGRAMMING (mine is) and you need to have BOTH your Windows machine(s) and the Samba server match this. Note capital letters.

 

Next, Netbios (which is windows share protocol) wants to have a machine name or netbios name. My Samba server is called IWILL2.

 

So, simply rename your smb.conf file and replace it with this one with suitable changes. Restart samba with command like (as root):

 

/etc/rc.d/init.d/smb restart

 

Make sure you have defined a user for the samba system. Do this as root with:

 

smbpasswd -a <your name> // Note your name should be same as Linux login name (for now).

 

Last, check that all is good with:

 

smbclient -L IWILL2 -U wbs

 

Note, the server name (-L) IWILL2 will probably not match your name and the user name (-U) wbs will not be the same as your user name, so change them accordingly. If you get a response, not an error, proceed to try from Windows. You should see IWILL2 in your Windows/Network/ etc.

 

Here is a good smb.conf file:

 

[global]

workgroup = PROGRAMMING // This MUST BE THE SAME ON WIN

netbios name = IWILL2 // Windows wants a machine name

server string = Fedora Core 3 - CIFS Server // Some text

printcap name = /etc/printcap // Location of printer defs

load printers = yes // Permit spooled printing for Win

printing = lprng

socket options = TCP_NODELAY // Performance enhancement

dns proxy = no

browseable = yes

 

[homes]

comment = Home Directories

path = /home/%u

browseable = no

writeable = yes

create mask = 0750

follow symlinks = no

# admin users = wbs // When you want to screw down access

# valid users = wbs // When you want to limit access

 

[printers]

comment = All Printers

path = /var/spool/samba

browseable = yes

guest ok = yes

printable = yes

guest ok = yes

 

---------

 

Hope this helps,

Bill

[midnightowner 0]

Thanks Bill, will give this a try. Have been quite busy and have done other stuff to FC3 since I messed around with SAMBA. There is also a "built in" SAMBA administrator to FC3 called SHANK or SHAWK or something like that. Read it in a Manual on FC3 at a bookstore and now, of course, I can't remember the acronymn. Ugh.

 

Anyway, I will give this a shot. Thanks so much for your help.