In this tutorial, you will learn how to easily install and configure Samba file server on Ubuntu 22.04. Samba is an opensource suite that implements the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol. Microsoft Windows operating systems and the OS/2 operating system use SMB to perform client-server networking for file and printer sharing and associated operations. Running on a Unix system, it allows Windows to share files and printers on the Unix host, and it also allows Unix users to access resources shared by Windows systems. It is therefore a very useful networking tool for anyone who has both Windows and Unix systems on their network.
Easily install and configure Samba File Server on Ubuntu 22.04
Samba can be run as:
- An Active Directory (AD) or NT4 domain member
- A standalone server
- An NT4 Primary Domain Controller (PDC) or Backup Domain Controller (BDC)
In this setup, we will run Samba as a standalone file server on Ubuntu 22.04.
Install Samba on Ubuntu 22.04
Install Samba packages by running the commands below;
apt updateapt install samba smbclient cifs-utilsConfigure Samba File Server on Ubuntu 22.04
Once the Samba package is installed, proceed to configure Samba file server on Ubuntu 22.04. As already stated, in this setup, we will run Samba as a standalone file server on Ubuntu 22.04. This means that Samba is not configured as a member of any directory service and thus, local system database will be used for authenticating users to access shared files.
Create a Shared Directory/Folder
Create a directory where you will place files to be shared. You can create a public or a private shared folders.
For example, we use /smb-public and /smb-private as our shared directories in this setup.
mkdir /smb-publicmkdir /smb-private
We will allow public access to the public folder and a few users to access the private folder.
Configure Samba File Server on Ubuntu 22.04
Open the Samba configuration file for editing;
vim /etc/samba/smb.confGlobal Samba configuration options
Below is our global Samba configuration, with comment lines removed.
[global]
unix charset = UTF-8
workgroup = WORKGROUP
server string = %h server (Samba, Ubuntu)
log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m
log level = 1
max log size = 1000
logging = file
panic action = /usr/share/samba/panic-action %d
server role = standalone server
obey pam restrictions = yes
unix password sync = yes
passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u
passwd chat = *Enter\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *Retype\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *password\supdated\ssuccessfully* .
pam password change = yes
map to guest = bad user
usershare allow guests = yes
Consult man smb.conf for a description of the configuration options used.
Configure file or printer sharing
For now, we will only be configuring file sharing. Hence, at the end of the Samba configuration file, add the share name and the configuration options.
In above, we created two directories, a public and a private one. We will set the public share as publicly accessible and private one will require authentication to access it.
Public Share Configuration
Example public share configurations.
[publicshare]
path = /smb-public
writable = yes
guest ok = yes
guest only = yes
force create mode = 775
force directory mode = 775
Private Share Configuration
Example Private share configuration.
[privateshare]
path = /smb-private
writable = yes
guest ok = no
valid users = @smbinternal
force create mode = 770
force directory mode = 770
inherit permissions = yes
Create Samba Share User Group
The above Private share will only allow users of the smbinternal group to access the share.
Therefore, let us create an smbinternal group and add specific users to this group to allow access to the private share.
groupadd smbinternalUpdate the permissions of the Shares
Change the group of the shared private directory;
chgrp -R smbinternal /smb-private/chgrp -R smbinternal /smb-public
Set the permissions of the directory;
chmod 2770 /smb-private/chmod 2775 /smb-public
The value 2 above represents SGID bit. This makes the new files/folders created to inherit the group of the parent directory instead setting it to the users primary group.
Next, create local accounts for the users you would like to give access to the private share. The users doesnt need to have the shell.
useradd -M -s /sbin/nologin demouserAdd the user to the smbinternal group;
usermod -aG smbinternal demouserCreate SMB password for the user;
smbpasswd -a demouserEnable the Samba account:
smbpasswd -e demouserVerifying the Samba configuration
It is recommended that you verify the Samba configuration each time you update the /etc/samba/smb.conf file using the testparm utility
You can simply execute it as follows:
testparmSample output;
Load smb config files from /etc/samba/smb.conf
Loaded services file OK.
Server role: ROLE_STANDALONE
Press enter to see a dump of your service definitions
# Global parameters
[global]
log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m
logging = file
map to guest = Bad User
max log size = 1000
obey pam restrictions = Yes
pam password change = Yes
panic action = /usr/share/samba/panic-action %d
passwd chat = *Enter\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *Retype\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *password\supdated\ssuccessfully* .
passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u
server role = standalone server
server string = %h server (Samba, Ubuntu)
unix password sync = Yes
usershare allow guests = Yes
idmap config * : backend = tdb
[publicshare]
force create mode = 0775
force directory mode = 0775
guest ok = Yes
guest only = Yes
path = /smb-public
read only = No
[privateshare]
force create mode = 0770
force directory mode = 0770
inherit permissions = Yes
path = /smb-private
read only = No
valid users = @smbinternal
In case of any error, fix it before you can proceed.
Restart Samba;
systemctl restart smbdCreate test files/folders on the shares;
mkdir /smb-private/demofolder-priv /smb-public/demofolder-pubtouch /smb-private/demofile-priv /smb-public/demofile-pubAllow Remote Access to Samba
To allow remote access to Samba from a specific network;
ufw allow from 192.168.59.0/24 to any app SambaAccessing SMB Shares from Clients
To learn how to access SMB share from various clients, follow the guide below;
How to Access Samba Share on Linux and Windows Systems
That brings us to the end of our tutorial on how to install and setup Samba File Server on Ubuntu 22.04.
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