In this article, we will have explained the necessary steps to install and configure Samba on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. Before continuing with this tutorial, make sure you are logged in as a user with sudo
privileges. All the commands in this tutorial should be run as a non-root user.
Samba is a free and open-source re-implementation of the SMB/CIFS network file sharing protocol that allows end-users to access files, printers, and other shared resources.
Install Samba on Ubuntu 20.04
Step 1. First, before you start installing any package on your Ubuntu server, we always recommend making sure that all system packages are updated.
sudo apt update sudo apt upgrade
Step 2. Installing Samba on Ubuntu system.
To install Samba, run the commands below:
sudo apt install samba
To verify if Samba services are running, run the commands below:
sudo systemctl status smbd
Step 3. Configuring Samba.
Now the first backup its default configuration file:
sudo cp /etc/samba/smb.conf{,.backup}
Next, open the Samba configuration file:
sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf
Add the following of the file:
======================= Global Settings ======================= [global] ## Browsing/Identification ### # Change this to the workgroup/NT-domain name your Samba server will part of workgroup = WORKGROUPnetbios name = linuxtips security = user proxy = no map to guest = bad user #### Networking #### # The specific set of interfaces / networks to bind to # This can be either the interface name or an IP address/netmask; # interface names are normally preferred interfaces = 127.0.0.0/8 eth0 # Only bind to the named interfaces and/or networks; you must use the # 'interfaces' option above to use this. bind interfaces only = yes #Most people will want "standalone server" or "member server". #Running as "active directory domain controller" will require firstserver role = standalone server obey pam restrictions = yes #This boolean parameter controls whether Samba attempts to sync the Unix[public] path = /samba/public browseable = yes guest ok = yes guest only = yes read only = no force user = nobody force create mode = 0777 force directory mode = 0777
Now that we have our new share configured, save it and restart Samba for it to take effect:
sudo systemctl restart nmbd
Step 4. Setting User Accounts and Connecting to Share.
Samba does not use system user accounts so we have to create samba accounts to share files with others. To create a user run the following command:
sudo smbpasswd -a yourusername
Step 5. Connecting to Share.
Open up the default file manager and click Connect to Server then enter:
That’s all you need to do to install the Samba on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Focal Fossa. I hope you find this quick tip helpful. For further reading on Samba, please refer to their official knowledge base. If you have questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment below.