Horrible problem with SAMBA -- Does Karmic work?

[Tom H]

>>>> I have done a clean install of Karmic on my file server and am tearing my
>>>> hair out. I'm almost ready to bolt for Red Hat!
>>>> I have tried numerous times to set up SAMBA so that students can log into
>>>> the system and access the files they need to access. They can't. The
>>>> latest error is that the machine account isn't set up. But I can't find
>>>> where the machine account is. When I upgraded from Jaunty (which worked
>>>> fine), I got this error and was unable to delete the machine password from
>>>> the /etc/samba/smbpasswd file to reload it. Now there isn't an
>>>> /etc/samba/smbpasswd file at all, so the accounts must be stored elsewhere.
>>>> Any ideas? Students can log in directly to the server or via ssh. The
>>>> problem is samba, and it appears to be the machine accounts.

>>> Thanks to the two who responded to this email. However, this still leaves
>>> the question open as to whether I need to establish accounts for both users
>>> and workstations; I assume I do. The TDBs seem to record the users
>>> correctly, but they do not appear to record the workstations. The way I've
>>> been doing this is, first, "useradd -M -N -s /bin/false<machinename$>",
>>> then "passwd -l<machinename$>", then "smbpasswd -a -m<machinename>". I
>>> get the message that users are added with the final statement (or deleted
>>> with smbpasswd -x -m<machinename>), but then I get the message that the
>>> workstation accounts aren't established when I try to log in on them. I
>>> suspect that the smbpasswd program is trying to write something to
>>> somewhere, but it's the tbd files that are actually controlling things. Do
>>> I use pdbedit for this, as I do with the users?

>> I have only ever used pdbedit for listing users (with -Lw or -Lv) but
>> it can be used to create, modify, and delete users and groups just
>> like smbpasswd. It can also create and modifies account policies but I
>> have not used these functions or even looked into them.

>> Your useradd-passwd-smbpasswd sequence seems correct (I would have
>> added "-g<gid>" or "-g 65534" rather than "-N" to the passwd
>> invocation, out of habit rather than out of necessity AFAIK - and I
>> assume that the missing $ at the end of the smbpasswd invocation is an
>> email typo).

>> Run
>> pdbedit -Lv<hostname>$
>> to make sure that you have "W" on the account flags line
>> and
>> to make sure that you have your domain/workgroup on the domain line
>> (and not your server name)

>> Questions:

>> 1. How do you know that it is the machine accounts that are failing
>> you? Please check your logs (or possibly increase the log level,
>> restart samba, try logging on, and check your logs).

>> 2. How is your smb.conf set up? Which security setting have you
>> chosen? Do you have a netlogon section?

>> 3. Do you really need to have a domain setup with machine accounts
>> (since you seem to have just one box)?

> Thanks for your input. I've learned a lot more about the problem in the
> last few days, and every time I think I understand what's going on I
> find out I don't. Students can log into the server locally and via ssh,
> and they can access network resources via "net use @:
> \\servername\share". However, they can't log on using samba -- UNLESS
> they are working on a workstation on which they were working before I
> upgraded the server, and it has their Windows profile. Then, they can
> indeed log into the system under their own name, but the system gives
> them the error message that it can't find their roming profile and it's
> logging them on using their local profile. This is very strange
> behavior; it doesn't fall into anything I've ever seen before.

> Anyhow, here's the smb.conf file:

> [global]
> workgroup = ERSL
> server string = Environmental Remote Sensing Laboratory
> netbios aliases = earth.sr-02-01.csuohio.edu
> interfaces = eth1
> syslog = 0
> log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m
> max log size = 1000
> logon drive = X:
> domain logons = Yes
> preferred master = Yes
> domain master = Yes
> wins support = Yes
> idmap uid = 10000-20000
> idmap gid = 10000-20000
> template homedir = /home2/%D/%U
> template shell = /bin/bash
> admin users = clapham

> #[netlogon]
> #comment = Network Logon Service
> #path = /home/samba/netlogon

> Here's the pdbedit -Lv for one workstation.

> Unix username: columbia$
> Account Flags: [W ]
> User SID: S-1-5-21-1977151345-229110656-292509728-1066
> Primary Group SID: S-1-5-21-1977151345-229110656-292509728-513
> Domain: ERSL

> Any help you can provide would be very welcome. As for your questions,
> I think the first two have been answered. As for the third, I am
> actually running 5 servers and about 20 workstations. It really does
> make sense, both for the size of the operation and the nature of what
> we're doing, to have a PDC.

No probs. I was only questioning the use of a PDC because you seemed
to have just one server judging from your previous posts. My mistaken
assumption.

"net use @: \\servername\share" means that samba _shares_ are working
for "servername". So your Samba usernames are being authorised fro
servername...

Logging on to a local profile is standard behaviour for a Windows
workstation when it cannot find a DC. (FYI, in Win networks, there is
a time limit to being able to do so - I have forgotten whether it is a
set period - three weeks comes to mind - or a function of password
ageing.)

For a PDC smb.conf, you need your netlogon section to be uncommented
and with the correct path and "logon path" and "logon home" in the
global section.

Also, for a PDC, if you haven't done so, you need to add group maps of
the Domain Administrators and Domain Users Win groups to Linux groups.

Once you make those changes and restart Samba, create a test user, and
try to log on to the domain.

You might want to cross-post at
https://lists.samba.org/mailman/listinfo/samba

One more question: Did you re-create the user and machine accounts?