Easiest Way to Set Up Samba Sharing On Linux

Setting up Samba sharing on Linux doesn't have to be a complex and time-consuming task. In fact, it can be remarkably simple and straightforward. In this article, we will guide you through the simplest way to configure Samba sharing on your Linux system. Whether you want to share files with other machines on your network or create a centralised file server, this step-by-step guide will get you up and running in no time. Say goodbye to complicated setups and hello to hassle-free Samba sharing on Linux.

We will configure two directories, and one user:

Shared: Readable and writeable
Torrent: read-only (because you will be deleting files through the torrent client)

samba as an user. Remember for the password in #1 and #5!

Let's dive in and get started!

1. Create a samba user
   adduser samba
   
   
2. Create directories
   mkdir /mnt/Torrent /mnt/Shared
   
   
3. Give the right permissions
   chown -R samba:pi /mnt/Shared
   chown -R rtorrent:samba /mnt/Torrent
   chmod -R 777 /mnt/Torrent /mnt/Shared
   
   
4. Installing samba
   apt install samba -y
   Note: Say "no" to the question
   
   
5. Set the password for the samba user
   smbpasswd -a samba
   Note: I recommend using the same password as in step #1
   
   
6. Set permission on the smb.conf (the main samba configuration file)
   chmod 600 /etc/samba/smb.conf
   
   
7. Edit it
   nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

[global]
        interfaces = 127.0.0.0/8 eth0
        client min protocol = SMB3
        server min protocol = SMB2
        panic action = /usr/share/samba/panic-action %d
        server role = standalone server
        idmap config * : backend = tdb
        invalid users = root
        valid users = samba
        veto files = /lost+found/
        browseable = no
        syslog = 0
        dns proxy = no
        disable netbios = yes
        lm announce = no

[Torrent]
        path = /mnt/Torrent
        veto files = /lost+found/

[Shared]
        path = /mnt/Shared
     veto files = /lost+found/
        read only = No

8. Enable the smbd service, and disable the unused nmdb service
   systemctl enable smbd ; systemctl disable nmbd
   
   
9. Do not forget to restart the service
   systemctl restart smbd
   
   
10. If you want to map the shared folder on Windows, I usually use the "Map network drive option", as this will give a letter, as a normal drive.
    

    

11. Follow the wizard and it will look like this:
    

    

    
    
    
12. That's all!

Trick:

Sometimes the gencache.tdb can get really big and needs to be deleted. Here's a simple script to do this:

gencachetdb="/run/samba/gencache.tdb"
[ -f "$gencachetdb" ] && [ "$(stat --format=%s $gencachetdb)" -gt "10000000" ] && rm "$gencachetdb" && systemctl restart smbd

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