Samba is a free and open-source Server Message Block protocol that provides file and print services between clients across various operating systems. Samba allows you to share files and directories between Linux and Windows operating systems. It can also integrate with a Microsoft Windows Server domain, either as a Domain Controller (DC) or as a domain member.
In this post, we will show you how to install the Samba server and create a private and public share on Oracle Linux 8.
Step 1 – Install Samba Server
By default, the Samba server package is included in the Oracle Linux default repo. You can install it easily using the following command:
dnf update -y dnf install samba samba-common samba-client -y
Once the Samba packages are installed, start and enable the smb and nmb services with the following command:
systemctl start smb systemctl enable smb systemctl start nmb systemctl enable nmb
Step 2 – Create a Public Share
In this section, we will show you how to create a public share on Samba so that everyone can access it without authentication.
First, create a directory for the public share and provide the necessary permissions:
mkdir -p /data/public touch /data/public/public.txt chmod -R 755 /data/public chown -R nobody:nobody /data/public
Next, backup the default Samba configuration file and create a new one with the following command:
mv /etc/samba/smb.conf /etc/samba/smb.conf.bak nano /etc/samba/smb.conf
Add the following configuration:
[global] workgroup = WORKGROUP server string = Samba Server %v netbios name = Oracle Linux 8 security = user map to guest = bad user dns proxy = no [Public] path = /data/public writable = yes guest ok = yes read only = no
Save and close the file, then restart the smb and nmb services to apply the changes:
systemctl restart smb systemctl restart nmb
Step 3 – Create a Private Share
In this section, we will show you how to create a private share on Samba so that the user needs to authenticate to Samba to access the share.
First, create a user and group with the following command
groupadd private useradd -g private private
Next, create a directory for the private share and provides the necessary permissions:
mkdir -p /data/private touch /data/private/private.txt chmod -R 755 /data/private chown -R root:private /data/private
Next, set the password for the private user with the following command:
smbpasswd -a private
Set your password as shown below:
New SMB password: Retype new SMB password: Added user private.
Next, edit the Samba configuration file with the following command:
nano /etc/samba/smb.conf
Add the following configurations at the end of the file:
[Private] path = /data/private valid users = @private guest ok = no writable = yes browsable = yes
Save and close the file, then restart the smb and nmb service to apply the changes:
systemctl restart smb systemctl restart nmb
Step 4 – Install Samba Client and Access the Samba Share
Next, go to the remote machine and install the Samba client with the following command:
dnf install samba-client cifs-utils -y
Next, run the following command to access the private share:
smbclient //server-IP/private -U private
You will be asked to provide your password to access the private share:
Password for [WORKGROUP\private]:
Once you are authenticated, you will get the following output:
Try "help" to get a list of possible commands. smb: \>
Next, run the following command to list all files inside the private share:
smb: \> ls
You will get the following output:
. D 0 Fri Sep 16 03:06:25 2022 .. D 0 Fri Sep 16 03:06:19 2022 private.txt N 0 Fri Sep 16 03:06:25 2022 83873792 blocks of size 1024. 75576444 blocks available
Next, exit from the Samba shell with the following command:
smb: \> exit
To access the public share, run the following command:
smbclient //server-IP/public
You should see the password prompt:
Password for [WORKGROUP\root]:
Just press the Enter key to connect to the Samba shell:
Try "help" to get a list of possible commands. smb: \>
Next, list all files inside the public share with the following command:
smb: \> ls
You should see the following output:
. D 0 Fri Sep 16 03:04:35 2022 .. D 0 Fri Sep 16 03:06:19 2022 public.txt N 0 Fri Sep 16 03:04:35 2022 83873792 blocks of size 1024. 75576424 blocks available
Next, exit from the Samba shell with the following command:
smb: \> exit
Conclusion
In this post, we explained how to install the Samba server and create a private and public share on Oracle Linux 8. You can now easily share files and directories between multiple machines easily. Try it on VPS hosting from Atlantic.Net!
