Command Center

All files accessible in a Linux (and UNIX) system are arranged in one big tree, the file hierarchy, rooted at /. These files can be spread out over several devices. The mount command serves to attach the file system found on some device to the big file tree.

Use the mount command to mount remote windows partition or windows share under Linux as follows:

Procedure to mount remote windows partition (NAS share)

1) Make sure you have following information:

==> Windows username and password to access share name

==> Sharename (such as //server/share) or IP address

==> root level access on Linux

2) Login to Linux as a root user (or use su command)

3) Create the required mount point:

# mkdir -p /mnt/ntserver

4) Use the mount command as follows:

# mount -t cifs //ntserver/download -o username=vivek,password=myPassword /mnt/ntserver

Use following command if you are using Old version such as RHEL <=4 or Debian <= 3:

# mount -t smbfs -o username=vivek,password=D1W4x9sw //ntserver/download /mnt/ntserver

5) Access Windows 2003/2000/NT share using cd and ls command:

# cd /mnt/ntserver; ls -l

Where,

• -t smbfs : File system type to be mount (outdated, use cifs)
• -t cifs : File system type to be mount
• -o : are options passed to mount command, in this example I had passed two options. First argument is password (vivek) and second argument is password to connect remote windows box
• //ntserver/download : Windows 2000/NT share name
• /mnt/ntserver Linux mount point (to access share after mounting)

Configure a system to automount a Samba share with /etc/fstab

As explained earlier you can use the mount command to mount a remote windows partition or a windows share under Linux.

/etc/fstab file contains static information about the filesystems. The file fstab contains descriptive information about the various file systems. fstab is only read by programs, and not written; it is the duty of the system administrator to properly create and maintain this file.

To mount a Samba share to be mounted when a Linux system comes up after reboot edit the /etc/fstab file and put entry as follows for your Windows/Samba share:

//ntserver/share /mnt/samba smbfs username=username,password=password 0 0

For example, if you want to mount a share called //ntserver/docs then you need to write following entry in /etc/fstab file://ntserver/docs /mnt/samba smbfs username=docsadm,password=D1Y4x9sw 0 0Where,

• //ntserver/docs: Windows 2003/NT/Samba share name
• /mnt/samba: Local mount point (you may need to create this directory first)
• smbfs: File system type (samba file system)
• username=docsadm,password=D1Y4×9sw: Share username and password

Open file /etc/fstab using vi text editor:# vi /etc/fstabAppend line //ntserver/docs /mnt/samba smbfs username=docsadm,password=D1Y4×9sw 0 0, at the end your file should read as follows:

proc            /proc           proc    defaults        0       0
/dev/hdb1       /               ext3    defaults,errors=remount-ro 0       1
/dev/hdb2       none            swap    sw              0       0
/dev/hdc        /media/cdrom0   iso9660 ro,user,noauto  0       0
//ntserver/docs /mnt/samba      smbfs   username=docsadm,password=D1Y4x9sw 0 0

Replace sharename, username and password with your actual parameters.

REFERENCES

http://longvnit.com/blog/?p=1072

The goal of this tutorial is to show you how to set up a public share on your Samba server that can be used by everyone on your network with all rights. This will enable everyone on a Windows machine to access this without a password.  Of course, this has security implications but it is a good way to get something working.  The next article will show you how to create a share for one user in which that one user is the only one who can access the share.

1. Install Samba
yum install samba samba-client samba-common

chkconfig  – -level 35 smb on

service smb start

2. Create a New smb.conf file

First,  change the  default smb.conf file to a backup copy, and then create a whole new one.

# mv smb.conf smb.conf.backup
# vim smb.conf

Here’s the new smb.conf file:
Note the workgroup should be the workgroup that you are using on your Windows machines.

[global]
netbios name = linuxserver
workgroup = WORKGROUP
server string = Public File Server
security = user
map to guest = bad user
guest account = smbguest

[public]
path = /public
guest ok = yes
read only = no

3. Test with testparm
This will help you determine if you have any major problems with the set up you placed in smb.conf.

# testparm
Load smb config files from /etc/samba/smb.conf
Processing section “[public]”
Loaded services file OK.
Server role: ROLE_STANDALONE
Press enter to see a dump of your service definitions

[global]
server string = Public File Server
map to guest = Bad User
guest account = smbguest

[public]
path = /public
read only = No
guest ok = Yes

4. Create a public user
Since the purpose is to  map the users to a special guest account,  open the /etc/passwd file for editing, and add the following line to the end of the file.

smbguest:x:525:525:Samba Guest Account:/dev/null:/bin/false

This creates the guest account.  Now, create a smbguest group with a group ID, here the GID of 525 was used, it does not matter which number as long as it is not used and over 500.

# groupadd -g 525 smbguest

Now, change to the root of the file system, and create the new directory that  to share.

# mkdir public

# chown -R smbguest:smbguest public

# ls -l
drwxr-xr-x 2 smbguest smbguest 184 2007-08-03 15:18 public

5. Access the share from Windows
Once you create public folder it should be visible on the network from an XP machine.

Expand “My Network Places”, and then expand “Workgroup”.  You’ll then see all of the members of the workgroup that’s named “Workgroup”.  Note also that you can have other workgroups with different names.  Even though a Windows computer can only be a member of one workgroup at a time, Windows Explorer will still show all workgroups that are on the network.

REFERENCE

http://beginlinux.com/blog/2010/01/create-a-public-share-on-samba/

If you use Samba you certainly want to create shares which provide users with private shares.  This tutorial will show you how to create a share that is accessible to one user to store their information.

Security Mode
The typical security mode that you will use for a simple user share is security = user.

Choosing a Database Type for Passwords
smbpasswd–A text-mode flat database.  You can use this on a stand-alone Samba server, but you don’t want to use it in a domain.
tdbsam–This is a regular database file, which can store a richer set of attributes than what the smbpasswd file can.  You can use it for either stand-alone Samba servers, or in a domain that’s running a single domain controller.
ldapsam–This type of database is set up with an ldap directory for its backend.  You can use this in a domain with multiple domain controllers.  You don’t want to use it for either stand-alone Samba servers, or for domains with single domain controllers.

Home Directories
This will create home directories on your Samba server that users can access from their Windows clients.  That way, everyone can have one central directory that they can access regardless of which client station they use to log on.  As a security precaution for the Linux server, users when created will not have access to login to the Linux server and get a shell, they will only be able to access their shares, typically from Windows.

Edit the /etc/smb.conf file.

[global]
netbios name = linuxserver
workgroup = WORKGROUP
server string = Public File Server
security = user
map to guest = bad user
guest account = smbguest
encrypt passwords = yes
passdb backend = tdbsam

[tom]
comment = Home Directory
path = /home/tom
valid users = tom
browsable = no
guest ok = no
read only = no

[public]
path = /share/public
guest ok = yes
read only = no

In the [global] section, encrypted passwords are used  and stored  in a “tdbsam”-type file.  You could get by with using an “smbpasswd”-type file for this example.

The [tom] share is a simple share for a user on the samba server.  In the [tom] section,  a comment line was added , which specifies what shows up in the comment column of a Windows Explorer detail display.  The “valid users = tom” line is what keeps people out of other people’s home directories.  And, you don’t want users’ home directories to show up in a Network Neighborhood display, so the “browsable = no” line is added.

Next, create a Linux-type user account for  tom.

# useradd -c “tom” -m -s /bin/false tom

The “-s” option switch, followed by the “/bin/false”, is what prevents tom from logging on to the Linux system.  The “-m” switch is what creates tom’s home directory.  There’s no need to give tom a password for this account as the password that is used will be with smnpasswd.

Next, create tom’s Samba account and give it a password.

smbpasswd -a tom
New SMB password:
Retype new SMB password:
Added user tom.

This command will add tom’s account information to the “passdb.tdb” file that’s found in the /var/lib/samba directory.

Restart Samba to reload the new configuration.

# service samba restart
* Stopping Samba daemons…                                                         [ OK ]
* Starting Samba daemons…                                                         [ OK ]

That should do it, tom now should be able to login to a user share just set up for him.

Login From Windows
Right click your My Computer and select “Map Network Drive”.  Select a drive letter, like “L” and then enter your Samba server IP and the share name.

\\192.168.5.89\tom

Connect and it should ask for user and password.

REFERENCE
http://beginlinux.com/blog/2010/01/samba-tutorial-create-private-user-shares/

Are you trying to network a macbook with your workgroup?

• Bring up a command window. (Start->Run->cmd)
• Type: "net view" (not including "'s)
• You should see a list of computers, \\computername
• Then you can use the command: "nbtstat -a computername" Where computername is one of the machines in the list. on each machine untill you find the one with "..__MSBROWSE__." in the list of results. This is the current master browser.

• Bring up a Terminal Window (Utilities, Terminal)
• Type: "nmblookup -M -- -." (not including "'s)
• This should give you the IP of the Master Browser. xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
• (Note the -- -. in my understanding is how to get the - symbol. The -- and . must be how to escape the characters otherwise - would be treated like the - in the -M command.)
• Then you can run, nmblookup -A xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (Where xx's represent the IP you got from the command before.
• This then should list the Netbios names of the Master browser and the workgroups.
• You will also see "..__MSBROWSE__." which indicates its the master browser.

• a) Stop vista from becoming a master browser. (Registry Edit or diable browser service)
• b) Enable the Mac to become a master browser. (terminal->sudo nano /etc/smb.conf, you are looking for os level = 2 and local master = no, You might want to do some more research of your own before modifying these settings.)
• c) Just use the connect to server option on the mac.

vladimir said...

I may have found a solution to this issue. After reading your article, I began a rather exhausting searching for Win7 Master Browser issues.

Run services.msc on Windows 7 machine

Browse down to Computer Browser and double-click

To test the fix, stop the service and wait 5-10 minutes to see if the Windows 7 machine appears either in the Shared section of the Mac's sidebar in a window or by pressing command-k and click the browse button on the Mac.

If this test works, go back to services.msc on the Windows 7 machine and disable the Computer Browser service. Restart the Windows 7 machine and after about 5 minutes and check to see if the Windows 7 machine can see the other computers on the network, (you will need to set up PC file sharing on the Mac).

If both scenarios work, problem solved!

• Non-Browser: Cannot participate in the election or maintain a Browser-list. Reports to the Master Browser with 12 min. intervals, and presumed dead by the Master Browser if it hasn't reported in 3 intervals.
• Potential Browser: Able to be Master Browser if elected and can be chosen as Backup Browser by the Master Browser. Reports back like the Non-Browser and if the Master Browser disappears it can start an election.
• Backup Browser: Elected by the Master Browser to mirror the Browser-list. Every 15 min. the Backup Browser requests an updated Browser-List from the Master Browser. There is a Backup browser elected for every 32 computer.
• Master Browser: Responsible for maintaining the Browser-list by adding and removing computers for a single subnet.
• Domain Master Browser: (Primary Domain Controller) Responsible to maintain the Browser-list in a Domain. It collects Browser-lists from all Master Browsers and distributes the entire Browser-list to all Master Browsers in the domain.

• Windows For Workgroups or Windows 9x : 0x01000000
• Windows 2000, NT4, XP Prof. : 0x10000000
• Windows 2000, NT4 Srv. : 0x20000000

• Primary Domain Controller(PDC) : 0x00000080
• WINS System : 0x00000020
• IsDomainMaster = Yes : 0x00000008
• Running Master Browser: 0x00000004
• MaintainServerList = Yes : 0x00000002
• Running Backup Browser: 0x00000001

• Control Master Browser in Windows 9x/Me
• Control Master Browser in Windows NT/2k/Xp
• Linux & Samba uses /etc/smb.conf

  [global]
  workgroup = MYGROUP
  netbiosname = myhostname
  encrypt passwords = yes
  
  #Whether to become master browser (yes, no)
  local master = no
  
  #Whether to become master browser in domain (auto, yes, no)
  domain master = no
  
  #Whether to have higher priority in election (auto, yes, no)
  preferred master = no
  
  #Whether to have higher priority compared to other OS (0-255)
  #default 20, Win95=1, WinNT Pro=17, WinNT Srv=33
  os level = 0