Samba

Samba server set up so it works with both linux and windows computers

Setting Up Samba Server on Ubuntu

Installing Samba

To install Samba, run the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install samba

To verify the installation, you can check the location of the Samba binaries:

whereis samba

Expected output should include paths like /usr/sbin/samba, /etc/samba, etc.

Setting up Samba

Creating a Share

Now that Samba is installed, create a directory for sharing:

mkdir /home/<username>/sambashare/

Edit the Samba configuration file to add the new directory as a share:

sudo vim /etc/samba/smb.conf

or

sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

Add the following lines at the bottom of the file:

[sambashare]
    comment = Samba on Ubuntu
    path = /home/<username>/sambashare
    read only = no
    browsable = yes

If using vim Save and exit : ESC -> :wq!

If using nano Save the file (Ctrl-O, Enter) and exit (Ctrl-X) nano.

Restarting Samba

Restart the Samba service for the changes to take effect:

sudo service smbd restart

Firewall Configuration

Update the firewall rules to allow Samba traffic:

sudo ufw allow samba

Setting up User Accounts

Since Samba uses its own user authentication, set a Samba password for your user account:

sudo smbpasswd -a <username>

Note: The username must correspond to a system account; otherwise, it will not be saved. For example, the path /home/<username>/sambashare should reflect an existing system user.

Connecting to Share

On Ubuntu

Open the file manager, click Connect to Server, and enter:

smb://<ip-address>/sambashare

Replace <ip-address> with the IP address of your Samba server and sambashare with the name of your share.

On macOS

In Finder, go to Go > Connect to Server and enter:

smb://<ip-address>/sambashare

Replace <ip-address> with the IP address of your Samba server and sambashare with the name of your share.

On Windows

Open File Explorer and enter the following in the address bar:

\\<ip-address>\sambashare

Replace <ip-address> with the IP address of your Samba server and sambashare with the name of your share.

When trying to connect we kept getting the followiung error :

To solve this we had to go on Windows Registry and make some small changes. Please execute the following instructions:

Window + r : regedit 

go to the following location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\

Add new DWORD:
Key: LmCompatibilityLevel
Value: 4

References

https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/install-and-configure-samba#1-overview
https://serverfault.com/questions/744312/access-denied-to-samba-share-from-windows-10