Chapter 6. The Samba Configuration File

In previous chapters, we showed you how to install Samba on a Unix server and set up Windows clients to use a simple disk share. This chapter will show you how Samba can assume more productive roles on your network.

Samba's daemons, smbd and nmbd , are controlled through a single ASCII file, smb.conf , that can contain over 300 unique options (also called parameters). Some of these options you will use and change frequently; others you might never use, depending on how much functionality you want Samba to offer its clients.

This chapter introduces the structure of the Samba configuration file and shows you how to use options to create and modify disk shares. Subsequent chapters will discuss browsing, how to configure users, security, printing, and other topics related to implementing Samba on your network.