Saturday, 25 November 2017

Introduction to Samba Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

SAMBA

Samba is the standard open source Windows interoperability suite of programs for Linux. It implements the server message block (SMB) protocol. SMB allows Microsoft Windows®, Linux, UNIX, and other operating systems to access files and printers shared from servers that support this protocol. Samba's use of SMB allows it to appear as a Windows server to Windows clients.

SAMBA PPACKAGE CHECKIN ON SYSTEM

In order to use Samba, first ensure the samba package is installed on your system by
running, as root:
~]# yum install samba

INTRODUCTION TO SAMBA

Samba is an important component to seamlessly integrate Linux Servers and Desktops into Active Directory (AD) environments. It can function both as a domain controller (NT4-style) or as a regular domain member (AD or NT4-style).

WHAT SAMBA CAN DO?

Serve directory trees and printers to Linux, UNIX, and Windows clients Assist in network browsing (with NetBIOS) Authenticate Windows domain logins Provide Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) name server resolution Act as a Windows NT®-style Primary Domain Controller (PDC) Act as a Backup Domain Controller (BDC) for a Samba-based PDC Act as an Active Directory domain member server Join a Windows NT/2000/2003/2008 PDC/Windows Server 2012

WHAT SAMBA CANNOT DO?

Act as a BDC for a Windows PDC (and vice versa)
Act as an Active Directory domain controller

SAMBA DAEMONS AND RELATED SERVICES

Samba is comprised of three daemons (smbd, nmbd, and winbindd). Three services
( smb, nmb, and winbind) control how the daemons are started, stopped, and other service-related features. These services act as different init scripts. Each daemon is listed in detail below, as well as which specific service has control over it.

smbd

The smbd server daemon provides file sharing and printing services to Windows clients. In addition, it is responsible for user authentication, resource locking, and data sharing through the SMB protocol. Thedefault ports on which the server listens for SMB traffic are TCP ports 139 and 445.The smbd daemon is controlled by the smb service.

nmbd

The nmbd server daemon understands and replies to NetBIOS name service requests such as those produced by SMB/CIFS in Windows-based systems. These systems include Windows 95/98/ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and LanManager clients. It also participates in the browsing protocols that make up the Windows Network Neighborhood view. The default port that the server listens to for NMB traffic is UDP port 137.
The nmbd daemon is controlled by the nmb service.

winbindd

The winbind service resolves user and group information received from a server running Windows NT, 2000, 2003, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2012. This makes Windows user and group information understandable by UNIX platforms. This is achieved by using Microsoft RPC calls, Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM), and the Name Service Switch (NSS). This allows Windows NT domain and Active Directory users to appear and operate as UNIX users on a UNIX machine. Though bundled with the Samba distribution, the winbind service is controlled separately from the smb service.
The winbind daemon is controlled by the winbind service and does not require the smb service to be started in order to operate. winbind is also used when Samba is an Active Directory member, and may also be used on a Samba domain controller (to implement nested groups and interdomain trust). Because winbind is a client-side service used to connect to Windows NT-based servers.

CONNECTING TO AN SMB SHARE

CONNECTING TO AN SMB SHARE USING THE NAUTILUS FILE MANAGER

GNOME Nautilus file manager to can be used for manually browse the network or to directly connect to a server message block (SMB) share.

BROWSING THE SMB NETWORK NEIGHBORHOOD

To browse the network and connect to an SMB share:
1. Select Places Browse Network from the GNOME panel.
2. Double-click Windows Network to display the available domains and work groups.
3. Double-click the domain or work group name to display the hosts within this domain or workgroup.
4. Double-click a host entry to display the SMB shares.
If the server requires authentication, Nautilus displays a dialog to enter the user name and password.

DIRECTLY CONNECTING TO AN SMB HOST OR SHARE

If the host name of the SMB server is known and optionally the share name, you can enter it directly to connect to the share:
1. Open a Nautilus window. For example, select Places Browse Network from the GNOME panel.
2. Press the Ctrl+L combination to enable the editable URL bar.
3. Enter smb://host_name into the URL bar and press Enter to list all SMB shares on this host.
Alternatively, enter smb://host_name/share_name to directly access a share.

CONNECTING TO AN SMB SHARE USING smbclient

The smbclient utility enables to connect to an SMB share and perform operations, similar to an FTP client.
1. For example, to connect to Demo_Share share on the SMB-Server host and authenticate using the administrator user name, enter:
# smbclient //SMB-Server/Demo_Share -Uadministrator
2. After you successfully logged in, enter help to display a list of available commands:
smb:\> help
For example, to change into the Example directory, enter:
smb:\> cd Example
3. To disconnect, enter:
smb:\> exit

MOUNTING THE SHARE

Sometimes it is useful to mount a Samba share to a directory so that the files in the directory can be treated as if they are part of the local file system. To mount a Samba share to a directory, create a directory to mount it to (if it does not already exist),
and execute the following command as root:
mount -t cifs //servername/sharename /mnt/point/ -o
username=username,password=password
This command mounts sharename from servername in the local directory /mnt/point/.
The mount.cifs utility is a separate RPM (independent from Samba). In order to use
mount.cifs, first ensure the cifs-utils package is installed on your system by running, as
root:
~]# yum install cifs-utils
cifs-utils package also contains the cifs.upcall binary called by the kernel in order to perform kerberized CIFS mounts.

CAUTIONS
Some CIFS servers require plain text passwords for authentication. Support for
plain text password authentication can be enabled using the following command as
root:
~]# echo 0x37 > /proc/fs/cifs/SecurityFlags

IMPORTANT TO NOTE:- This operation can expose passwords by removing password

encryption.

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