Long Time Samba No Work-Need Expert Help On Samba/Networking-Ahhh, Some Success

[Leonard Chatagnier]

Hello Jurgen,
Thanks for joining my bandwagon.  Maybe if enough
people agree something will be done. It's satisfying
to hear that I'm not the only one.  I intended to add
my smb.conf file on this post but after thinking about
what to say and composing it, I just overlooked adding
it. It's copied at the end of this post. Maybe it'll
be of some help to you getting Samba to work, hope so.
To make it clear, my ubuntu computer's name is ubuntu
and that's what I added the netbios name as.  Don't
give up, if I can get samba fully working anybody can
with effort, of course.
I do agree with you on the goodness of Ubuntu and it's
user groups and will eventually rid my other computer
of windows but there is room for improvement.  Good
luck to you on Samba. Also, see my comment on DHCP
below.

> > Well, after many painful trials involving many
> posts,
> > googles, suggestions and reading manuals and
> > official/unofficial user guides, this issue is
> solved.
> > I'm now able to "map network drives" from my
> WinXP. 
> > The solution was to add a line,"netbios name =
> > name_of_your_server (no spaces)", from 
> >
>
http://doc.gwos.org/index.php/Share_files_using_Samba
> > found googling for "ubuntu samba smb.conf" and by
> > uncommenting the line "directory mask = 0775" in
> the
> > homes section(this line was uncommented in earlier
> > trials but still couldn't map drives).
> > I did not see the "netbios name" entry in the
> default
> > smb.conf file or in the Off/Unoff user guides or
> the
> > manuals that I recall. This made a solutions very
> > difficult. I desperately wanted an example of a
> > working smb.conf but couldn't find one googling or
> get
> > one from the user group.  That would have been
> > helpful. I would think the the user group would
> feel
> > that way, too, but no.  Resolving this issue took
> way
> > too much time, effort and patience than is
> warranted
> > and many less determined people would have
> abandoned
> > the effort if they had the problems I did.
> > I have some further comments that please consider
> as a
> > critique not criticism:
> > 
> > 1. Both the official and unofficial user guides
> were
> > virtually useless in solving my problems.  Most
> > everything listed I had already done manually and
> > those new items that appeared were not plain,
> clear
> > instructions easily followed.  My earlier posts on
> the
> > subject exemplifies that point.
> > 2. An example of a working smb.conf would be most
> > helpful for a noobie, or someone just not having
> the
> > knowledge of what goes in it as I am. 
> > 3.Someone should edit the user guides to provide
> > explanations on those items that are unusual,
> cryptic
> > or easily misinterpreted.  No,not me as I don't
> have
> > the knowledge or experience.  The job wouldn't be
> hard
> > for a person with the knowledge.
> > 4. I hate reading manuals(and guides) as they try
> to
> > cover too much and make clear nothing.  I wonder
> why
> > any body bothers.  They would be more useful if
> they
> > had two sections, one detailing setup and another
> > detailing how to use the program. If it's going to
> > clutter up my HDD space it should be useful to one
> > just starting Linux. Examples should be mandatory.
> > 5. All default setups/conf files should just work
> out
> > of the box(windows does, bite my tongue as I like
> > Linux and Ubuntu). I don't see that this should be
> so
> > hard. I came to Ubuntu from Debian just because
> > someone told me how easy it is to install and use.
>  I
> > could fill in a whole month's of user list posts
> with
> > my trouble with Debian setup issues. Not user
> > friendly. Ubuntu does this better than any other
> linux
> > distro but it's a long way from perfect and you
> can't
> > always get a quick, down and dirty, fix from the
> list.
> >  This case is an example.
> > If I were a young person, I'd chalk it up to
> learning
> > and education.  But I don't have that time or
> luxury.
> > 6.If Linux and Ubuntu are going to continue to
> make
> > inroads against windows it has to become even more
> > user friendly and just work out of the box as
> windows
> > usually does.  Wont argue about windows vs. Linux;
> > just my opinion and an expression of my dislikes
> and
> > issues with Linux in general.
> > 
> > Well enough of this. Please take my comments as
> > constructive even if nothing is done about it as I
> > expect it wont.
> > Thanks to everyone offering help on this issue,
> > especially Karl who was most constructive and
> pointed
> > out things I wasn't aware of.  Many thanks.
> > 
> > Leonard Chatagnier
> > lenc5570 at sbcglobal.net
> > 
> > -- 
> > ubuntu-users mailing list
> > ubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com
> > Modify settings or unsubscribe at: 
>
https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-users
> 
> I totally agree with Leonard, that the user guides
> are rather useless 
> and the help from user groups isn't that good
> either. I also agree with 
> Leonard that this is constructive criticism and I'm
> happy that Leonard 
> spoke about this.
> 
> Having said this, I want to make it clear that I
> really like Ubuntu and 
> I won't go back to Windows even if I think that it
> was at some points 
> easier to use for an average computer user (setting
> up network etc.).
> 
> I have also googled and sent messages to both
> Finnish and English user 
> groups. Nothing has helped.
> 
> I think that Ubuntu 7.04 is really user friendly.
> That's hy I like it. 
> Solving problems with it is, however, not. There is
> still a lot to do in 
> providing easy and thorough help. And yes, I have
> googled tens of help 
> pages for over a week now.
> 
> I still can't find my Win XP machines from Ubuntu,
> and I still cannot 
> find my Ubuntu from Win XP with netbios name, only
> with IP-number (which 
> changes daily due to DHCPand automatic IP from ADSL
> provider).
> 
I have DHCP with SBC Global.net(gateway.2wire.net) and
my IPs stay fixed this side of the router and only
vary transparently on the internet side which makes
things easier to set up.  I don't know how it
happened.  Maybe you can do it at your router's home
tech support uri or someone on the list can help out
here. I don't know, not that knowledgable on networks,
but it could be related to being only able to connect
with you IP's and not netbios name since the IP's
change on the network side.

> I have tried Places - Network - etc and found
> Windows-network, workgroup 
> and Ubuntu machine but nothing else. I have tried
> Places - Connect to 
> Server. I have configured smb.conf in I don't know
> how many ways 
> according to advice that I have found in HowTo's,
> user guides and user 
> groups. Other people seem to have succeeded with
> similar problems. I 
> don't seem to succeed.
> 
> Help, anyone?
> 
> Jürgen Römer
> 
This smb.conf file worked for me.  If you try it,
remember to replace any reference to my names(net bios
or otherwise) with yours. Hope it helps and let us
know  the outcome if you try it:

chata at ubuntu:/etc/samba$ cat smb.conf
#
# Sample configuration file for the Samba suite for
Debian GNU/Linux.
#
#
# This is the main Samba configuration file. You
should read the
# smb.conf(5) manual page in order to understand the
options listed
# here. Samba has a huge number of configurable
options most of which
# are not shown in this example
#
# Any line which starts with a ; (semi-colon) or a #
(hash)
# is a comment and is ignored. In this example we will
use a #
# for commentary and a ; for parts of the config file
that you
# may wish to enable
#
# NOTE: Whenever you modify this file you should run
the command
# "testparm" to check that you have not made any basic
syntactic
# errors.
#

#======================= Global Settings
=======================

[global]

## Browsing/Identification ###

# Change this to the workgroup/NT-domain name your
Samba server will part of
   workgroup = MSHOME
   netbios name = ubuntu
# server string is the equivalent of the NT
Description field
   server string = %h server (Samba, Ubuntu)

# Windows Internet Name Serving Support Section:
# WINS Support - Tells the NMBD component of Samba to
enable its WINS Server
   wins support = no

# WINS Server - Tells the NMBD components of Samba to
be a WINS Client
# Note: Samba can be either a WINS Server, or a WINS
Client, but NOT both
;   wins server = w.x.y.z

# This will prevent nmbd to search for NetBIOS names
through DNS.
   dns proxy = no

# What naming service and in what order should we use
to resolve host names
# to IP addresses
   name resolve order = lmhosts host wins bcast

#### Networking ####

# The specific set of interfaces / networks to bind to
# This can be either the interface name or an IP
address/netmask;
# interface names are normally preferred
   interfaces = 127.0.0.0/8 eth0

# Only bind to the named interfaces and/or networks;
you must use the
# 'interfaces' option above to use this.
# It is recommended that you enable this feature if
your Samba machine is
# not protected by a firewall or is a firewall itself.
 However, this
# option cannot handle dynamic or non-broadcast
interfaces correctly.
   bind interfaces only = true



#### Debugging/Accounting ####

# This tells Samba to use a separate log file for each
machine
# that connects
   log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m

# Put a capping on the size of the log files (in Kb).
   max log size = 1000

# If you want Samba to only log through syslog then
set the following
# parameter to 'yes'.
;   syslog only = no

# We want Samba to log a minimum amount of information
to syslog. Everything
# should go to /var/log/samba/log.{smbd,nmbd} instead.
If you want to log
# through syslog you should set the following
parameter to something higher.
   syslog = 0

# Do something sensible when Samba crashes: mail the
admin a backtrace
   panic action = /usr/share/samba/panic-action %d


####### Authentication #######

# "security = user" is always a good idea. This will
require a Unix account
# in this server for every user accessing the server.
See
#
/usr/share/doc/samba-doc/htmldocs/Samba3-HOWTO/ServerType.html
# in the samba-doc package for details.
   security = user
   username map = /etc/samba/smbusers

# You may wish to use password encryption.  See the
section on
# 'encrypt passwords' in the smb.conf(5) manpage
before enabling.
   encrypt passwords = true

# If you are using encrypted passwords, Samba will
need to know what
# password database type you are using.
   passdb backend = tdbsam

   obey pam restrictions = yes

   guest account = nobody
   invalid users = root

# This boolean parameter controls whether Samba
attempts to sync the Unix
# password with the SMB password when the encrypted
SMB password in the
# passdb is changed.
;   unix password sync = no

# For Unix password sync to work on a Debian GNU/Linux
system, the following
# parameters must be set (thanks to Ian Kahan
<<kahan at informatik.tu-muenchen.de> for
# sending the correct chat script for the passwd
program in Debian Sarge).
   passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u
   passwd chat = *Enter\snew\sUNIX\spassword:* %n\n
*Retype\snew\sUNIX\spassword:* %n\n
*password\supdated\ssuccessfully* .

# This boolean controls whether PAM will be used for
password changes
# when requested by an SMB client instead of the
program listed in
# 'passwd program'. The default is 'no'.
;   pam password change = no

########## Domains ###########

# Is this machine able to authenticate users. Both PDC
and BDC
# must have this setting enabled. If you are the BDC
you must
# change the 'domain master' setting to no
#
;   domain logons = yes
#
# The following setting only takes effect if 'domain
logons' is set
# It specifies the location of the user's profile
directory
# from the client point of view)
# The following required a [profiles] share to be
setup on the
# samba server (see below)
;   logon path = \\%N\profiles\%U
# Another common choice is storing the profile in the
user's home directory
;   logon path = \\%N\%U\profile

# The following setting only takes effect if 'domain
logons' is set
# It specifies the location of a user's home directory
(from the client
# point of view)
;   logon drive = H:
;   logon home = \\%N\%U

# The following setting only takes effect if 'domain
logons' is set
# It specifies the script to run during logon. The
script must be stored
# in the [netlogon] share
# NOTE: Must be store in 'DOS' file format convention
;   logon script = logon.cmd

# This allows Unix users to be created on the domain
controller via the SAMR
# RPC pipe.  The example command creates a user
account with a disabled Unix
# password; please adapt to your needs
; add user script = /usr/sbin/adduser --quiet
--disabled-password --gecos "" %u

########## Printing ##########

# If you want to automatically load your printer list
rather
# than setting them up individually then you'll need
this
   load printers = yes

# lpr(ng) printing. You may wish to override the
location of the
# printcap file
;   printing = bsd
;   printcap name = /etc/printcap

# CUPS printing.  See also the cupsaddsmb(8) manpage
in the
# cupsys-client package.
   printing = cups
   printcap name = cups

# When using [print$], root is implicitly a 'printer
admin', but you can
# also give this right to other users to add drivers
and set printer
# properties
;   printer admin = @lpadmin


############ Misc ############

# Using the following line enables you to customise
your configuration
# on a per machine basis. The %m gets replaced with
the netbios name
# of the machine that is connecting
;   include = /home/samba/etc/smb.conf.%m

# Most people will find that this option gives better
performance.
# See smb.conf(5) and
/usr/share/doc/samba-doc/htmldocs/Samba3-HOWTO/speed.html
# for details
# You may want to add the following on a Linux system:
#         SO_RCVBUF=8192 SO_SNDBUF=8192
   socket options = TCP_NODELAY

# The following parameter is useful only if you have
the linpopup package
# installed. The samba maintainer and the linpopup
maintainer are
# working to ease installation and configuration of
linpopup and samba.
;   message command = /bin/sh -c '/usr/bin/linpopup
"%f" "%m" %s; rm %s' &

# Domain Master specifies Samba to be the Domain
Master Browser. If this
# machine will be configured as a BDC (a secondary
logon server), you
# must set this to 'no'; otherwise, the default
behavior is recommended.
   domain master = auto

# Some defaults for winbind (make sure you're not
using the ranges
# for something else.)
   idmap uid = 10000-20000
   idmap gid = 10000-20000
   template shell = /bin/bash

#======================= Share Definitions
=======================

# Un-comment the following (and tweak the other
settings below to suit)
# to enable the default home directory shares.  This
will share each
# user's home directory as \\server\username
[homes]
   comment = Home Directories
   browseable = yes

# By default, \\server\username shares can be
connected to by anyone
# with access to the samba server.  Un-comment the
following parameter
# to make sure that only "username" can connect to
\\server\username
   valid users = %S

# By default, the home directories are exported
read-only. Change next
# parameter to 'yes' if you want to be able to write
to them.
   writable = yes

# File creation mask is set to 0600 for security
reasons. If you want to
# create files with group=rw permissions, set next
parameter to 0664.
   create mask = 0664

# Directory creation mask is set to 0700 for security
reasons. If you want to
# create dirs. with group=rw permissions, set next
parameter to 0775.
   directory mask = 0775

# Un-comment the following and create the netlogon
directory for Domain Logons
# (you need to configure Samba to act as a domain
controller too.)
;[netlogon]
;   comment = Network Logon Service
;   path = /home/samba/netlogon
;   guest ok = yes
;   writable = no
;   share modes = no

# Un-comment the following and create the profiles
directory to store
# users profiles (see the "logon path" option above)
# (you need to configure Samba to act as a domain
controller too.)
# The path below should be writable by all users so
that their
# profile directory may be created the first time they
log on
;[profiles]
;   comment = Users profiles
;   path = /home/samba/profiles
;   guest ok = no
;   browseable = no
;   create mask = 0600
;   directory mask = 0700

[printers]
   comment = All Printers
   browseable = no
   path = /var/spool/samba
   printable = yes
   public = no
   writable = no
   create mode = 0700

# Windows clients look for this share name as a source
of downloadable
# printer drivers
[print$]
   comment = Printer Drivers
   path = /var/lib/samba/printers
   browseable = yes
   read only = yes
   guest ok = no
# Uncomment to allow remote administration of Windows
print drivers.
# Replace 'ntadmin' with the name of the group your
admin users are
# members of.
;   write list = root, @ntadmin

# A sample share for sharing your CD-ROM with others.
;[cdrom]
;   comment = Samba server's CD-ROM
;   writable = no
;   locking = no
;   path = /cdrom
;   public = yes

# The next two parameters show how to auto-mount a
CD-ROM when the
#       cdrom share is accesed. For this to work
/etc/fstab must contain
#       an entry like this:
#
#       /dev/scd0   /cdrom  iso9660
defaults,noauto,ro,user   0 0
#
# The CD-ROM gets unmounted automatically after the
connection to the
#
# If you don't want to use auto-mounting/unmounting
make sure the CD
#       is mounted on /cdrom
#
;   preexec = /bin/mount /cdrom
;   postexec = /bin/umount /cdrom

lchata at ubuntu:/etc/samba$   

Leonard Chatagnier
lenc5570 at sbcglobal.net