Using Samba

This book, which has been officially adopted by the Samba team under an open content license, is a comprehensive guide to Samba administration, including such recent additions as integration with Windows NT domains and the SWAT graphic configuration tool.

Samba is a cross-platform triumph: it turns a Unix or Linux system into a file and print server for Microsoft Windows network clients. Now you can let users store their files (and even more important executables) in a single place for easy sharing and backup, protected by Unix or NT security mechanisms, and still offer such transparent access that PC users don't even realize they're going to another system. The magic behind Samba is that it recognizes and speaaks the SMB protocol developed by Microsoft for file and printer sharing on its own systems.

Basic Samba configuration is simple, but you'll want to make sure your security settings are just right and find out about the full range of options (how do you like your filename mangled?) Trouble-shooting, security, connectivity, performance, and logging are thoroughly covered with examples in this book.

Samba is so robust, flexible, and secure that many people are choosing it over Windows NT for their file and print services. Furthermore, Samba is proving to be a necessity for many organizations that have an existing Unix or Linux system and want to tie in PCs running Microsoft software. Samba is also Open Source software, licensed under the GNU General Public License.

The authors present the most common configurations and problems in an easy-to-follow manner along with instructions for getting the most out of Samba. Whether you're playing on one note or a full three-octave range, this book will give you an efficient and secure server.

1. Learning the Samba
• What is Samba?
• What Can Samba Do For Me?
• Getting Familiar with a SMB/CIFS Network
• Microsoft Implementations
• An Overview of the Samba Distribution
• How Can I Get Samba?
• What's New in Samba 2.0?
• And That's Not all
2. Installing Samba on a Unix System
• Downloading the Samba Distribution
• Configuring Samba
• Compiling and Installing Samba
• A Basic Samba Configuration File
• Starting the Samba Daemons
• Testing the Samba Daemons
3. Configuring Windows Clients
• Setting Up Windows 95/98 Computers
• Setting Up Windows NT 4.0 Computers
• An Introduction to SMB/CIFS
4. Disk Shares
• Learning the Samba Configuration File
• Special Sections
• Configuration File Options
• Server Configuration
• Disk Share Configurations
• Networking Options with Samba
• Virtual Servers
• Logging Configuration Options
5. Browsing and Advanced Disk Shares
• Browsing
• Filesystem Differences
• File Permissions and Attributes on MS-DOS and Unix
• Name Mangling and Case
• Locks and Oplocks
6. Users, Security, and Domains
• Users and Groups
• Controlling Access to Shares
• Authentication Security
• Passwords
• Windows Domains
• Logon Scripts
7. Printing and Name Resolution
• Sending Print Jobs to Samba
• Printing to Window Client Printers
• Name Resolution with Samba
8. Additional Samba Information
• Supporting Programmers
• Magic Scripts
• Internationalization
• WinPopup Messages
• Recently Added Options
• Miscellaneous Options
• Backups with smbtar
9. Troubleshooting Samba
• The Tool Bag
• The Fault Tree
• Extra Resources

1. Configuring Samba with SSL
2. Samba Performance Tuning
3. Samba Configuration Option Quick Reference
4. Summary of Samba Daemons and Commands
5. Downloading Samba with CVS
6. Sample Configuration File

This is supposed to be the authorative work on Samba, but it's a moving target. You're better off reading the internet pages.