Setting Up A Linux File Server Using Samba
Setting Up A Linux File Server Using Samba
Step1
Download
Ubuntu Server and create the boot CD, then download the corresponding
Ubuntu Server Guide from
https://help.ubuntu.com/.
I will be referring to this guide a lot so print it off or keep
it open on another PC.
**
It is important you use the guide written for your version of
Ubuntu Server as some commands change between versions (this was one of the
issues I had with other tutorials). This may also cause problems if
you upgrade to a new version of
Ubuntu so I suggest you use the most
recent LTS (long term support) version and stick to it.
Boot
off the CD and follow installation instructions. I selected
Guided
- Use entire Disk.
I did not select LVM as I had issues retrieving data from an earlier
attempt, where I screwed up the interfaces
file and it wouldn't boot (yes I know you can mount LVM from a Live
Disk but I can't be bothered with the hassle) this is a simple home
server so I like to keep everything as simple as possible.
Give
your server a name, create a user and set a sensible password. (this
will also be your admin password so it should include capitals and
symbols or numbers), I'll explain more about this later.
****
NB When creating the user make it something like serveradmin. Do
not
make this username the same as your Windows username. If you do it
may cause issues later.****
Select
Samba and SSH during the installation procedure by moving up and down
with the arrow keys and pressing the space bar. Use the Tab key to
skip to the next or back buttons. Now continue with the installation
and in a few minutes you will be presented with the Ubuntu Server
login screen. If at this stage you were expecting a graphical user
interface with shiny buttons and a mouse then you will be
disappointed. This can be installed if you really wish but that
defeats the purpose of using the server edition of Ubuntu. On this
version of Ubuntu you will have to get your hands dirty on the
keyboard.
Step 2
Login
with your user name and password.
Install
updates :-
sudo apt-get update
This
just ensures everything is up to date.
You
should be prompted for a password. Use the one you created earlier.
Step 3
In
the Ubuntu Server Guide you downloaded earlier look for the chapter
on
Windows
Networking and
follow the instructions for
Samba
File Server.
NB
You shouldn't need to run the install command for Samba as it was
installed earlier but if you have run it and are being asked which
version of smb.conf you want, I suggest you keep the one already
installed. This is especially true if you have already made changes
to it.
**
Before you start editing the smb.conf file, copy it to something like
smb.conf_backup. You will probably cock things up the first time you
attempt this so it is nice to be able to get back to square one. :-
sudo
cp /etc/samba/smb.conf /etc/samba/smb.conf_backup
I
use Nano for editing text files from the CLI (command line
interface). I hate Vi with a passion, that may be cause I'm a bit
thick, but I find Nano much easier to use. So your command to edit
the
smb.conf
file will be :
-
sudo
nano /etc/samba/smb.conf
You
need to be an admin user to save any changes when you're finished
editing, hence the sudo in front of nano.
In
Ubuntu any command which may change the server configuration needs to
be carried out by the admin user. Since for security reasons you
cannot login as root (the admin user) the alternative is to insert
sudo before every command then provide the admin password, this keeps
things nice and secure. Other Distros allow you to type su (for super
user) then the password and this will give admin access until you
logout.
Check
the workgroup name in your Windows PC by right clicking on My
Computer, select properties and Computer name. It will probably be
WORKGROUP or
MSHOME, depending on your version of XP. Sorry not sure
how to find out in Vista or W7 but probably something similar.
Now
follow the instructions carefully. Some of the commands are already
in the
smb.conf file but have a
# symbol in front of them, removing
the
# symbol makes the command active.
To
close Nano and save your changes press CTRL and X, type y and press
enter. CTRL and O is shown as Write out which just means SAVE, if you
want to save it as you go along.
NB.
Pretty much everything in Linux is case sensitive, i.e. If you gave
your folder names capitals when creating, them then you MUST use
capitals when referring to them or moving around the file structure.
Linux will see Music and music as two completely different folders.
Step 4
This
bit may or may not be necessary, as far as I can see it depends on
the version of Ubuntu Server and whether or not you installed Samba
as part of the server installation. To connect from either a
Linux or
Windows PC you need to make one more small change. Look for the area
in
smb.conf marked Authentication, and just below the bit where you
set security to user, change:-
encrypt passwords = false
to
encrypt passwords = true
Save
it, restart Samba by the method suggested for your version of Ubuntu
Server (it seems to change between versions) or just reboot the
server and you should done.
Step 5
Now
to the bit nobody else mentions in their tutorials and I had to
figure out for myself. How do I connect to the bugger?!!! I tried
browsing "
Network
Connections"
but that didn't work, possibly because at this point we haven't
created Samba users to match our Windows users but anyhow we don't
need to. Here is how I did it.
Note
you experts out there may criticize my way of doing this but it's
simple and it works so don't knock it.
If
not sure of your server IP address just type ifconfig at the command
prompt. This will give you a full breakdown of your network details.
From
a Win XP Pro machine (sorry not sure it this is the same for other
versions of Windows but it should be similar).
Open
My
Computer.
Click
on
Tools
and
Map
network Drive.
In
the window labeled
Folder,
enter the IP address of your server preceded by
\\ and followed by
\sharename (where
sharename is the name of the share you created earlier).
e.g.
:- \\192.168.1.4\Music or \\192.168.0.5\Photos
Press
Finish and if everything has worked you should now see the network
folder. You can create a shortcut to it for easy access in the future
but Windows should remember the network drive name you just created.
To
connect from a
Linux PC:- (I am using Ubuntu 10.10, sorry not sure
about other Distros but other versions of Ubuntu should be similar)
Click
on
Places
and select
Connect
to Server.
Select
Windows Share and type in the server IP address in the window labeled
Server.
Enter
the share name you created, put a tick in
create
bookmark
(this just makes Ubuntu remember the path after logout or reboot) and
click on connect. Do not enter any username or password, it shouldn't
be necessary if you followed the guide earlier.
And
that's it. Yippee you now have a working file server.
During
installation you installed SSH and having SSH running on your server
in default mode can be a security risk, so we want to sort that. We
need to change the default port to a random number of your own
choosing. To do this follow the instructions in the Ubuntu Server
Guide under the chapter
Remote
Administration.
The default port is 22 which many people don't bother changing so
this is the one used by hackers and hacking software to try and gain
access to your server. There are a few other options there but I
haven't bothered with them.
Step 6
Unless
you chose to give your server a static IP address during installation
it will have a DHCP address assigned to it by your router. This would
be fine so long as you never reboot your router or shutdown the
server. Sooner or later though it will pick up a different IP address
and you will be left disconnected, so we will give it a static one.
Check the current IP address by typing
ifconfig
at the command prompt. You only want to change the last part so for
example if it is
192.168.1.5 then change it to
192.168.1.101. You can
set the last part to be any number between
2 and
254, mine is
101.
In
the Ubuntu Server Guide open the chapter
Networking – Network Configuration - IP addressing
and select
Static
IP Address Assignment.
sudo
nano /etc/network/interfaces
It
should look something like
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet static
address 192.168.1.101
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 192.168.1.1
The
gateway is normally the IP address of your router which is usually
192.168.1.1 or
192.168.0.1 but may be something completely different.
If you ran
ipconfig
on your Windows PC it should have shown you the
gateway address. If in doubt check your manual or Google the model of
your router.
You
might also want to check the IP address of your Windows PC, it should
be similar to the server but it may previously have been set to a
static address.
Run
cmd
from the Start button (or Start and Run in XP). Then type
ipconfig
at
the command prompt. This should show your IP address which will be
something like
192.168.1.5 or
192.168.0.3. Whatever it is your PC and
server should be in the same range of IP addresses (this just means
the first three parts should be the same).
Step 7
Now
that you've a working server you'll want to tuck it away somewhere,
minus monitor, k/b and mouse of course (if your system board can boot
without a k/b that is, it should be an option in the BIOS to ignore
errors on boot). During the initial installation of Ubuntu Server you
selected to install SSH. This is a protocol (program) which allows
you to administer your server remotely from any PC (or even smart
phone). If you didn't don't worry, just type:-
sudo
apt-get install openssh-server
The
easiest way to connect from another PC is to install Putty. A quick
Google of Putty will have you up and running in a few seconds. When
you launch Putty you will see it asking for a Host Name (or IP
address). Just type in your server IP address and new port number,
ensure SSH is selected, type a name into Saved sessions and click
save, then click open. Say Yes to the security question and your
connected. Now you can administer the server from your PC/laptop or
even smart phone, how cool is that!
So
there you have it. You've installed Ubuntu Server and configured it
to let your Windows or
Linux box connect to it. There are many more
things your server can do for you, it can act as a Proxy server
screening your network from the Internet and caching frequently used
web sites, or as an email server, or a print server etc.
I'm
no expert on Linux and I am sure there are other ways to achieve all
this. Some of them may even be better but This method is tried and
tested several times and if you follow the steps as shown it should
work. If you have any suggestions for improving this tutorial then
please let us all know .
Tags: Setting Up A Linux File Server Using Samba, Linux File Server, linux, server, linux samba, Linux File Server
