Samba configuration

The smb.conf file stores all the configurations for Samba. It provides runtime configuration information for the Samba programs. It determines which system resources you can share with the outside world and what restrictions you wish to place on them. The file consists of sections and parameters. The name of the section must be enclosed in square brackets. Each section continues until the next one begins.

Each section of the file starts with a section header such as [global], [homes], [printers], etc.

The [global] section has the variables to define sharing for all resources.

The [homes] section allows remote users to access their (and only their) home directory on the local (Linux) machine. That is, users can access their share from Windows machines and they will have access to their personal home directories.

The [printers] section works the same as the [homes] section, but for printers.

If you change this configuration file, the changes do not apply until you restart the Samba daemon with the command service smb restart.

To view the status of the Samba daemon, use the following command: