Using Samba: A File & Print Server for Linux, Unix & Mac OS X

Samba, the Server Message Block (SMB) server software that makes it relatively easy to integrate Unix or Linux servers into networks of Microsoft Windows workstations, has to date been mostly explained as an afterthought. Most often, it's appeared in the latter chapters of books about Linux. It deserves better, and the authors of Using Samba have delivered exactly that. This book documents Samba 2.0.4 fully (version 2.0.5, source and binary, appears on the companion CD-ROM), focusing on smbd, nmbd, the command-line tools, and Samba's newfound ability to integrate itself securely with Windows NT domains.

Though it includes a bit of information on the SMB and Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocols that underlie Samba, the emphasis here is on setting up and configuring software. Explicit sections explain how to install Samba on a Unix/Linux system and how to set up Microsoft clients to communicate with the Samba machine. The authors pay lavish attention to the Samba configuration file, smb.conf, and explain exactly what settings you need to include in it to allow disk shares, network browsing, and integration with Windows domains. A highly useful reference that lists all Samba configuration options (along with their valid values, default values, and explanations) appears in an appendix. --David Wall

Topics covered: All aspects of setting up and configuring Samba 2.0 and its variants, including client configuration, file sharing, network browsing, file system differences between Windows and Unix/Linux, security, and the contents of the Samba configuration file.