Serving files with SMB/CIFS through Samba

We are going to start by setting up a simple read-only file server using Samba, and then we will expand on it from there. If you are not familiar with SMB/CIFS, you may know it by another name, Windows File Sharing. This is the protocol, which Microsoft uses for its built-in file sharing, but re-implemented by the Samba project.

How to do it…

1. Install Samba:

   sudo apt-get install samba
   

2. Edit /etc/samba/smb.conf:

   [global]
     server role = standalone server
     map to guest = Bad User
     syslog = 0
     log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m
     max log size = 1000
     dns proxy = No
     usershare allow guests = Yes
     panic action = /usr/share/samba/panic-action %d
     idmap config * : backend = tdb
   [myshare]
     path = /home/share
     guest ok = yes
     read only = yes

3. Restart smbd:

   sudo service smbd restart
   

4. You should now be able to browse the share like you used to do in Windows file share.

How it works…

The Global section of the above configuration is a slimmed-down version of the...