1.3 List Shares Available on the Server

To list shares that are available from the configured Samba server execute the following command:

$ smbclient -L yourhostname

You should see a list of shares available on your server. If you do not, then something is incorrectly configured. This method can also be used to see what shares are available on other SMB servers, such as Windows 2000.

If you choose user -level security you may find that Samba requests a password before it will list the shares. See the smbclient man page for details. You can force it to list the shares without a password by adding the option -N to the command line.

1.4 Connect with a UNIX Client

Enter the following command:

$ smbclient //yourhostname/aservice

Typically yourhostname is the name of the host on which smbd has been installed. The aservice is any service that has been defined in the smb.conf file. Try your user name if you just have a [ homes ] section in the smb.conf file.

Example: If the UNIX host is called bambi and a valid login name is fred , you would type:

$ smbclient //bambi/fred

1.5 Connect from a Remote SMB Client

Now that Samba is working correctly locally, you can try to access it from other clients. Within a few minutes, the Samba host should be listed in the Network Neighborhood on all Windows clients of its subnet. Try browsing the server from another client or 'mounting' it.

Mounting disks from a DOS, Windows or OS/2 client can be done by running a command such as:

C:\> net use d: \\

servername

\service

Try printing, e.g.

C:\> net use lpt1: \\servername\spoolservice

C:\> print filename

1.6 What If Things Don't Work?

You might want to read Chapter 32, The Samba Checklist . If you are still stuck, refer to Chapter 33, Analyzing and Solving Samba Problems . Samba has been successfully installed at thousands of sites worldwide. It is unlikely that your particular problem is unique, so it might be productive to perform an Internet search to see if someone else has encountered your problem and has found a way to overcome it.

1.7 Common Errors

The following questions and issues are raised repeatedly on the Samba mailing list.

1.7.1 Large Number of smbd Processes

Samba consists of three core programs: nmbd, smbd, and winbindd. nmbd is the name server message daemon, smbd is the server message daemon, and winbindd is the daemon that handles communication with Domain Controllers.

If Samba is not running as a WINS server, then there will be one single instance of nmbd running on your system. If it is running as a WINS server then there will be two instances ” one to handle the WINS requests .

smbd handles all connection requests. It spawns a new process for each client connection made. That is why you may see so many of them, one per client connection.

winbindd will run as one or two daemons, depending on whether or not it is being run in split mode (in which case there will be two instances).

1.7.2 Error Message: open_oplock_ipc

An error message is observed in the log files when smbd is started: " open_oplock_ipc: Failed to get local UDP socket for address 100007f. Error was Cannot assign requested ."

Your loopback device isn't working correctly. Make sure it is configured correctly. The loopback device is an internal (virtual) network device with the IP address 127.0.0.1 . Read your OS documentation for details on how to configure the loopback on your system.

1.7.3 " The network name cannot be found "

This error can be caused by one of these misconfigurations:

You specified an nonexisting path for the share in smb.conf .
The user you are trying to access the share with does not have sufficient permissions to access the path for the share. Both read (r) and access (x) should be possible.
The share you are trying to access does not exist.