Build a File Server

IF YOU’RE LEAVING a Raspberry Pi running at all times, it might as well make itself useful. Setting up a Samba share means you (and other users of your network) can store files on it, and because Samba incurs little system overhead, it’s realistic to install it on a machine that’s otherwise dedicated to a different task. Open a terminal, and type sudo apt-get install samba

samba-common-bin to install it.

Next, sudo mkdir -m 1777 /share creates a shared directory in the root of your SD card, gives everyone permission to read and write to it, and uses the sticky bit (the “1” in “1777”) to stop it being deleted. Run sudo

nano /etc/samba/smb.conf and add the following to the config file: [share] Comment = Shared folder Path = /share Browseable = yes Writeable = Yes only guest = no create mask = 0777 directory mask = 0777 Public = yes Guest ok = yes

Set up a password for your share with sudo smbpasswd -a pi , restart Samba with sudo /etc/init.d/samba

restart , and you’re all set to go. On a Windows machine, you should see a machine called “Raspberrypi” in the “Network” section of Explorer—open it, and you’ll find your shared folder.