path: root/docs/samba.faq

                           Frequently Asked Questions

                                    about the

                                   SAMBA Suite

                  (FAQ version 1.9.02, Samba version 1.09.02)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This FAQ was originally prepared by Karl Auer (Karl.Auer@anu.edu.au) and is
currently maintained by Paul Blackman (ictinus@lake.canberra.edu.au).

As Karl originally said, 'this FAQ was prepared with lots of help from numerous
net.helpers', and that's the way I'd like to keep it. So if you find anything
that you think should be in here don't hesitate to contact me.

Thanks to Karl for the work he's done, and continuing thanks to Andrew Tridgell
for developing Samba.

Note: This FAQ is (and probably always will be) under construction. Some
sections exist only as optimistic entries in the Contents page.

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Contents

     * SECTION ONE: General information
          All about Samba - what it is, how to get it, related sources of
          information.
     * SECTION TWO: Compiling and installing Samba on a Unix host
          Common problems that arise when building and installing Samba under
          Unix.
     * SECTION THREE: Common client problems
          Common problems that arise when trying to communicate from a client
          computer to a Samba server. All problems which have symptoms you see
          at the client end will be in this section.
     * SECTION FOUR: Specific client problems
          This section covers problems that are specific to certain clients,
          such as Windows for Workgroups or Windows NT. Please check Section
          Three first!
     * SECTION FIVE: Specific client application problems
          This section covers problems that are specific to certain products,
          such as Windows for Workgroups or Windows NT. Please check Sections
          Three and Four first!
     * SECTION SIX: Miscellaneous
          All the questions that aren't classifiable into any other section.


===============================================================================
SECTION ONE: General information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* 1: What is Samba?

Samba is a suite of programs which work together to allow clients to access
Unix filespace and printers via the SMB (Session Message Block) protocol.

In practice, this means that you can redirect disks and printers to Unix disks
and printers from Lan Manager clients, Windows for Workgroups 3.11 clients,
Windows NT clients and OS/2 clients. There is also a Unix client program
supplied as part of the suite which allows Unix users to use an ftp-like
interface to access filespace and printers on any other SMB servers.

The components of the suite are (in summary):

     * smbd, the SMB server. This handles actual connections from clients
     * nmbd, the Netbios name server, which helps clients locate servers
     * smbclient, the Unix-hosted client program
     * smbrun, a little 'glue' program to help the server run external
         programs
     * testprns, a program to test server access to printers
     * testparms, a program to test the Samba configuration file for
         correctness
     * smb.conf, the Samba configuration file
     * smbprint, a sample script to allow a Unix host to use smbclient to
         print to an SMB server

The suite is supplied with full source (of course!) and is GPLed.

The primary creator of the Samba suite is Andrew Tridgell. Later versions
incorporate much effort by many net.helpers. The man pages and this FAQ were
written by Karl Auer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* 2: What is the current version of Samba?

At time of writing, the current version was 1.9.12. If you want to be sure
check the bottom of the change-log file. 
(nimbus.anu.edu.au/pub/tridge/samba/change-log)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* 3: Where can I get it?

The Samba suite is available via anonymous ftp from nimbus.anu.edu.au. The
latest and greatest versions of the suite are in the directory:

/pub/tridge/samba/

Development (read "alpha") versions, which are NOT necessarily stable and which
do NOT necessarily have accurate documentation, are available in the directory:

/pub/tridge/samba/alpha

Note that binaries are NOT included in any of the above. Samba is distributed
ONLY in source form, though binaries may be available from other sites. Recent
versions of some Linux distributions, for example, do contain Samba binaries
for that platform.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* 4: What platforms are supported?

Many different platforms have run Samba successfully. The platforms most widely
used and thus best tested are Linux and SunOS.

At time of writing, the Makefile claimed support for:

     * SunOS
     * Linux with shadow passwords
     * Linux without shadow passwords
     * SOLARIS
     * SOLARIS 2.2 and above (aka SunOS 5)
     * SVR4
     * ULTRIX
     * OSF1 (alpha only)
     * OSF1 with NIS and Fast Crypt (alpha only)
     * OSF1 V2.0 Enhanced Security (alpha only)
     * AIX
     * BSDI
     * NetBSD
     * NetBSD 1.0
     * SEQUENT
     * HP-UX
     * SGI
     * SGI IRIX 4.x.x
     * SGI IRIX 5.x.x
     * FreeBSD
     * NeXT 3.2 and above
     * NeXT OS 2.x
     * NeXT OS 3.0
     * ISC SVR3V4 (POSIX mode)
     * ISC SVR3V4 (iBCS2 mode)
     * A/UX 3.0
     * SCO with shadow passwords.
     * SCO with shadow passwords, without YP.
     * SCO with TCB passwords
     * SCO 3.2v2 (ODT 1.1) with TCP passwords
     * intergraph
     * DGUX
     * Apollo Domain/OS sr10.3 (BSD4.3)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* 5: How can I find out more about Samba?

There are two mailing lists devoted to discussion of Samba-related matters.
There is also the newsgroup, comp.protocols.smb, which has a great deal of
discussion on Samba.

Send email to listproc@anu.edu.au. Make sure the subject line is blank, and
include the following two lines in the body of the message:

      subscribe samba Firstname Lastname
      subscribe samba-announce Firstname Lastname

Obviously you should substitute YOUR first name for "Firstname" and YOUR last
name for "Lastname"! Try not to send any signature stuff, it sometimes confuses
the list processor.

The samba list is a digest list - every eight hours or so it regurgitates a
single message containing all the messages that have been received by the list
since the last time and sends a copy of this message to all subscribers.

If you stop being interested in Samba, please send another email to
listproc@anu.edu.au. Make sure the subject line is blank, and include the
following two lines in the body of the message:

      unsubscribe samba
      unsubscribe samba-announce

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* 6: Something's gone wrong - what should I do?

[#] *** IMPORTANT! *** [#]
DO NOT post messages on mailing lists or in newsgroups until you have carried
out the first three steps given here!

Firstly, see if there are any likely looking entries in this FAQ!

Secondly, read the man pages for smbd, nmbd and smb.conf, looking for topics
that relate to what you are trying to do.

Thirdly, if there is no obvious solution to hand, try to get a look at the log
files for smbd and/or nmbd for the period during which you were having
problems. You may need to reconfigure the servers to provide more extensive
debugging information - usually level 2 or level 3 provide ample debugging
info. Inspect these logs closely, looking particularly for the string "Error:".

If you successfully solve a problem, please mail me a succinct description of
the symptom, the problem and the solution, so I can incorporate it in the next
version of the FAQ.


===============================================================================
SECTION TWO: Compiling and installing Samba on a Unix host
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


===============================================================================
SECTION THREE: Common client problems
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* 1: I can't see the Samba server in any browse lists!

*** Until the FAQ can be updated, please check the file:
*** ftp://nimbus.anu.adu.au/pub/tridge/samba/BROWSING.txt
*** for more information on browsing. 

If your GUI client does not permit you to select non-browsable servers, you may
need to do so on the command line. For example, under Lan Manager you might
connect to the above service as disk drive M: thusly:

   net use M: \\mary\fred

The details of how to do this and the specific syntax varies from client to
client - check your client's documentation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* 2: Some files that I KNOW are on the server doesn't show up when I view the
directories from my client!

If you check what files are not showing up, you will note that they are files
which contain upper case letters or which are otherwise not DOS-compatible (ie,
they are not legal DOS filenames for some reason).

The Samba server can be configured either to ignore such files completely, or
to present them to the client in "mangled" form. If you are not seeing the
files at all, the Samba server has most likely been configured to ignore them.
Consult the man page smb.conf(5) for details of how to change this - the
parameter you need to set is "mangled names = yes".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* 3: Some files on the server show up with really wierd filenames when I view
the directories from my client!

If you check what files are showing up wierd, you will note that they are files
which contain upper case letters or which are otherwise not DOS-compatible (ie,
they are not legal DOS filenames for some reason).

The Samba server can be configured either to ignore such files completely, or
to present them to the client in "mangled" form. If you are seeing strange file
names, they are most likely "mangled". If you would prefer to have such files
ignored rather than presented in "mangled" form, consult the man page
smb.conf(5) for details of how to change the server configuration - the
parameter you need to set is "mangled names = no".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* 4: My client reports "cannot locate specified computer" or similar.

This indicates one of three things: You supplied an incorrect server name, the
underlying TCP/IP layer is not working correctly, or the name you specified
cannot be resolved.

After carefully checking that the name you typed is the name you should have
typed, try doing things like pinging a host or telnetting to somewhere on your
network to see if TCP/IP is functioning OK. If it is, the problem is most
likely name resolution.

If your client has a facility to do so, hardcode a mapping between the hosts IP
and the name you want to use. For example, with Man Manager or Windows for
Workgroups you would put a suitable entry in the file LMHOSTS. If this works,
the problem is in the communication between your client and the netbios name
server. If it does not work, then there is something fundamental wrong with
your naming and the solution is beyond the scope of this document.

If you do not have any server on your subnet supplying netbios name resolution,
hardcoded mappings are your only option. If you DO have a netbios name server
running (such as the Samba suite's nmbd program), the problem probably lies in
the way it is set up. Refer to Section Two of this FAQ for more ideas.

By the way, remember to REMOVE the hardcoded mapping before further tests :-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* 5: My client reports "cannot locate specified share name" or similar.

This message indicates that your client CAN locate the specified server, which
is a good start, but that it cannot find a service of the name you gave.

The first step is to check the exact name of the service you are trying to
connect to (consult your system administrator). Assuming it exists and you
specified it correctly (read your client's doco on how to specify a service
name correctly), read on:

     * Many clients cannot accept or use service names longer than eight
         characters.
     * Many clients cannot accept or use service names containing spaces.
     * Some servers (not Samba though) are case sensitive with service names.
     * Some clients force service names into upper case.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* 6: My client reports "cannot find domain controller", "cannot log on to the
network" or similar.

Nothing is wrong - Samba does not implement the primary domain name controller
stuff for several reasons, including the fact that the whole concept of a
primary domain controller and "logging in to a network" doesn't fit well with
clients possibly running on multiuser machines (such as users of smbclient
under Unix).

Seeing this message should not affect your ability to mount redirected disks
and printers, which is really what all this is about.

For many clients (including Windows for Workgroups and Lan Manager), setting
the domain to STANDALONE at least gets rid of the message.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* 7: Printing doesn't work :-(

Make sure that the specified print command for the service you are connecting
to is correct and that it has a fully-qualified path (eg., use "/usr/bin/lpr"
rather than just "lpr").

Make sure that the spool directory specified for the service is writable by the
user connected to the service. In particular the user "nobody" often has
problems with printing, even if it worked with an earlier version of Samba. Try
creating another guest user other than "nobody".

Make sure that the user specified in the service is permitted to use the
printer.

Check the debug log produced by smbd. Search for the printer name and see if
the log turns up any clues. Note that error messages to do with a service ipc$
are meaningless - they relate to the way the client attempts to retrieve status
information when using the LANMAN1 protocol.

If using WfWg then you need to set the default protocol to TCP/IP, not Netbeui.
This is a WfWg bug.

If using the Lanman1 protocol (the default) then try switching to coreplus.
Also not that print status error messages don't mean printing won't work. The
print status is received by a different mechanism.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* 8: My programs install on the server OK, but refuse to work properly.

There are numerous possible reasons for this, but one MAJOR possibility is that
your software uses locking. Make sure you are using Samba 1.6.11 or later. It
may also be possible to work around the problem by setting "locking=no" in the
Samba configuration file for the service the software is installed on. This
should be regarded as a strictly temporary solution.

In earlier Samba versions there were some difficulties with the very latest
Microsoft products, particularly Excel 5 and Word for Windows 6. These should
have all been solved. If not then please let Andrew Tridgell know.


===============================================================================
SECTION FOUR: Specific client problems
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* 1: Are any MacIntosh clients for Samba.

In Rob Newberry's words (rob@eats.com, Sun, 4 Dec 1994):

The answer is "No." Samba speaks SMB, the protocol used for Microsoft networks.
The Macintosh has ALWAYS spoken Appletalk. Even with Microsoft "services for
Macintosh", it has been a matter of making the server speak Appletalk. It is
the same for Novell Netware and the Macintosh, although I believe Novell has
(VERY LATE) released an extension for the Mac to let it speak IPX.

In future Apple System Software, you may see support for other protocols, such
as SMB -- Applet is working on a new networking architecture that will make it
easier to support additional protocols. But it's not here yet.

Now, the nice part is that if you want your Unix machine to speak Appletalk,
there are several options. "Netatalk" and "CAP" are free, and available on the
net. There are also several commercial options, such as "PacerShare" and
"Helios" (I think). In any case, you'll have to look around for a server, not
anything for the Mac.

Depending on you OS, some of these may not help you. I am currently
coordinating the effort to get CAP working with Native Ethertalk under Linux,
but we're not done yet.

Rob


===============================================================================
SECTION FIVE: Specific client application problems
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


===============================================================================
SECTION SIX: Miscellaneous
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maintained By Paul Blackman, Email:ictinus@lake.canberra.edu.au