How to Install the Samba server on ubuntu server 20.04

Louis SanchezAugust 14th 2021, 10:57

Linux provides various options, such as Samba and NFS, to host a centralized storage server and share data across multiple computers.

Samba is a collection of open source applications that implement Server Message Block (SMB) and Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocols on Unix systems. This allows Samba to be accessible across different types of network system.

Installing the Samba server

Step 1 : Install the Samba server with the following command:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install samba -y

Step 2 : you can check the Samba version with the following command:

smbd --version

Step 3 : First, create a backup of the original configuration file:

sudo cp /etc/samba/smb.conf /etc/samba/smb.conf.orignl

Step 4 : Next, open smb.conf and add the following lines to the Samba configuration to enable the sharing of public directories

sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf
[Public]
path = /var/samba/shares/public
browsable =yes
writable = yes
guest ok = yes
read only = no
create mask = 644

Step 5 : Next, we need to create a shared directory. Change the directory permissions to make it world writable:

sudo mkdir -p /var/samba/shares/public
sudo chmod 777 /var/samba/shares/public

Step 6 : Restart the Samba service for the changes to take effect:

sudo service smbd restart

Step 7 : Now you can access this Samba share on the Windows/Mac client. You should see the shared directory, Public, as follows:

Adding users to the Samba server

We installed the Samba server and created a public share accessible to everyone. Next, we will add authentication to the Samba server and password protect shared directories.

Step 8 : Create a new user account. Change smbuser to your desired username:

sudo useradd -d /home/smbuser -s /sbin/nologin smbuser

Step 9 : Now, we need to allocate a Samba password to this new user:

sudo smbpasswd -a smbuser

Step 10 : Create a shared directory for this user and change its ownership:

sudo mkdir -p /var/samba/shares/smbuser
sudo chown smbuser:smbuser /var/samba/shares/smbuser

Step 11 : Next, edit the Samba configuration to add the preceding share:

[Private]
path = /var/samba/shares/smbuser
browsable = yes
writable = yes
valid users = smbuser

Step 12 : Save the changes to the configuration file and reload the Samba server:

sudo service smbd reload

Step 13 : Now, check in Finder. You should see the new shared directory.