SMB.CONF(5) smb.conf SMB.CONF(5)
NAME
smb.conf - configuration file for smbd
SYNOPSIS
smb.conf
DESCRIPTION
The smb.conf file is a configuration file for the Samba
suite.
smb.conf contains runtime configuration information for the
smbd program. The smbd program provides LanManager-like ser-
vices to clients using the SMB protocol.
FILE FORMAT
The file consists of sections and parameters. A section
begins with the name of the section in square brackets and
continues until the next section begins. Sections contain
parameters of the form 'name = value'.
The file is line-based - that is, each newline-terminated
line represents either a comment, a section name or a param-
eter.
Section and parameter names are not case sensitive.
Only the first equals sign in a parameter is significant.
Whitespace before or after the first equals sign is dis-
carded. Leading, trailing and internal whitespace in section
and parameter names is irrelevant. Leading and trailing whi-
tespace in a parameter value is discarded. Internal whi-
tespace within a parameter value is retained verbatim.
Any line beginning with a semicolon is ignored, as are lines
containing only whitespace.
The values following the equals sign in parameters are all
either a string (no quotes needed) or a boolean, which may
be given as yes/no, 0/1 or true/false. Case is not signifi-
cant in boolean values, but is preserved in string values.
Some items such as create modes are numeric.
SERVICE DESCRIPTIONS
Each section in the configuration file describes a service.
The section name is the service name and the parameters
within the section define the service's attributes.
There are three special sections, [global], [homes] and
[printers], which are described under 'special sections'.
The following notes apply to ordinary service descriptions.
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A service consists of a directory to which access is being
given plus a description of the access rights which are
granted to the user of the service. Some housekeeping
options are also specifiable.
Services are either filespace services (used by the client
as an extension of their native file systems) or printable
services (used by the client to access print services on the
host running the server).
Services may be guest services, in which case no password is
required to access them. A specified guest account is used
to define access privileges in this case.
Services other than guest services will require a password
to access them. The client provides the username. As many
clients only provide passwords and not usernames, you may
specify a list of usernames to check against the password
using the "user=" option in the service definition.
Note that the access rights granted by the server are masked
by the access rights granted to the specified or guest user
by the host system. The server does not grant more access
than the host system grants.
The following sample section defines a file space service.
The user has write access to the path /home/bar. The service
is accessed via the service name "foo":
[foo]
path = /home/bar
writable = true
The following sample section defines a printable service.
The service is readonly, but printable. That is, the only
write access permitted is via calls to open, write to and
close a spool file. The 'guest ok' parameter means access
will be permitted as the default guest user (specified else-
where):
[aprinter]
path = /usr/spool/public
read only = true
printable = true
public = true
SPECIAL SECTIONS
The [global] section
Parameters in this section apply to the server as a
whole, or are defaults for services which do not specifi-
cally define certain items. See the notes under
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'Parameters' for more information.
The [homes] section
If a section called 'homes' is included in the configura-
tion file, services connecting clients to their home
directories can be created on the fly by the server.
When the connection request is made, the existing ser-
vices are scanned. If a match is found, it is used. If no
match is found, the requested service name is treated as
a user name and looked up in the local passwords file. If
the name exists and the correct password has been given,
a service is created by cloning the [homes] section.
Some modifications are then made to the newly created
section:
The service name is changed from 'homes' to the
located username
If no path was given, the path is set to the user's
home directory.
If you decide to use a path= line in your [homes] section
then you may find it useful to use the %S macro. For
example path=/data/pchome/%S would be useful if you have
different home directories for your PCs than for unix
access.
This is a fast and simple way to give a large number of
clients access to their home directories with a minimum
of fuss.
A similar process occurs if the requested service name is
"homes", except that the service name is not changed to
that of the requesting user. This method of using the
[homes] section works well if different users share a
client PC.
The [homes] section can specify all the parameters a nor-
mal service section can specify, though some make more
sense than others. The following is a typical and suit-
able [homes] section:
[homes]
writable = yes
An important point:
If guest access is specified in the [homes] section,
all home directories will be accessible to all clients
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without a password. In the very unlikely event that
this is actually desirable, it would be wise to also
specify read only access.
Note that the browseable flag for auto home directories will
be inherited from the global browseable flag, not the
[homes] browseable flag. This is useful as it means setting
browseable=no in the [homes] section will hide the [homes]
service but make any auto home directories visible.
The [printers] section
This section works like [homes], but for printers.
If a [printers] section occurs in the configuration file,
users are able to connect to any printer specified in the
local host's printcap file.
When a connection request is made, the existing services
are scanned. If a match is found, it is used. If no match
is found, but a [homes] section exists, it is used as
described above. Otherwise, the requested service name is
treated as a printer name and the appropriate printcap
file is scanned to see if the requested service name is a
valid printer name. If a match is found, a new service is
created by cloning the [printers] section.
A few modifications are then made to the newly created
section:
The service name is set to the located printer name
If no printer name was given, the printer name is set
to the located printer name
If the service does not permit guest access and no
username was given, the username is set to the located
printer name.
Note that the [printers] service MUST be printable - if
you specify otherwise, the server will refuse to load the
configuration file.
Typically the path specified would be that of a world-
writable spool directory with the sticky bit set on it. A
typical [printers] entry would look like this:
[printers]
path = /usr/spool/public
writable = no
public = yes
printable = yes
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All aliases given for a printer in the printcap file are
legitimate printer names as far as the server is con-
cerned. If your printing subsystem doesn't work like
that, you will have to set up a pseudo-printcap. This is
a file consisting of one or more lines like this:
alias|alias|alias|alias...
Each alias should be an acceptable printer name for your
printing subsystem. In the [global] section, specify the
new file as your printcap. The server will then only
recognise names found in your pseudo-printcap, which of
course can contain whatever aliases you like. The same
technique could be used simply to limit access to a sub-
set of your local printers.
An alias, by the way, is defined as any component of the
first entry of a printcap record. Records are separated
by newlines, components (if there are more than one) are
separated by vertical bar symbols ("|").
PARAMETERS
Parameters define the specific attributes of services.
Some parameters are specific to the [global] section (eg.,
security). Some parameters are usable in all sections (eg.,
create mode). All others are permissible only in normal sec-
tions. For the purposes of the following descriptions the
[homes] and [printers] sections will be considered normal.
The letter 'G' in parentheses indicates that a parameter is
specific to the [global] section. The letter 'S' indicates
that a parameter can be specified in a secvice specific sec-
tion. Note that all S parameters can also be specified in
the [global] section - in which case they will define the
default behaviour for all services.
Parameters are arranged here in alphabetical order - this
may not create best bedfellows, but at least you can find
them! Where there are synonyms, the preferred synonym is
described, others refer to the preferred synonym.
VARIABLE SUBSTITUTIONS
Many of the strings that are settable in the config file can
take substitutions. For example the option "path = /tmp/%u"
would be interpreted as "path = /tmp/john" if the user con-
nected with the username john.
These substitutions are mostly noted in the descriptions
below, but there are some general substitions which apply
whenever they might be relevant. These are:
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%S = the name of the current service, if any
%P = the root directory of the current service, if any
%u = user name of the current service, if any
%U = session user name (the user name that the client
wanted, not necessarily the same as the one they got)
%H = the home directory of the user given by %u
%v = the Samba version
%h = the hostname that Samba is running on
%m = the netbios name of the client machine (very useful)
%M = the internet name of the client machine
%d = The process id of the current server process
%a = the architecture of the remote machine. Only some are
recognised, and those may not be 100% reliable. It currently
recognises Samba, WfWg, WinNT and Win95. Anything else will
be known as "UNKNOWN". If it gets it wrong then sending me a
level 3 log should allow me to fix it.
%I = The IP address of the client machine
%T = the current date and time
There are some quite creative things that can be done with
these substitutions and other smb.conf options.
NAME MANGLING
Samba supports "name mangling" so that Dos and Windows
clients can use files that don't conform to the 8.3 format.
There are several options that control the way mangling is
performed, and they are grouped here rather than listed
separately. For the defaults look at the output of the test-
parm program.
All of these options can be set separately for each service
(or globally, of course).
The options are:
"mangle case = yes/no" controls if names that have charac-
ters that aren't of the "default" case are mangled. For
example, if this is yes then a name like "Mail" would be
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mangled. Default no.
"case sensitive = yes/no" controls whether filenames are
case sensitive. If they aren't then Samba must do a filename
search and match on passed names. Default no.
"default case = upper/lower" controls what the default case
is for new filenames. Default lower.
"preserve case = yes/no" controls if new files are created
with the case that the client passes, or if they are forced
to be the "default" case. Default no.
COMPLETE LIST OF GLOBAL PARAMETER
Here is a list of all global parameters. See the section of
each parameter for details. Note that some are synonyms.
auto services
config file
deadtime
debuglevel
default
default service
dfree command
getwd cache
hosts equiv
include
keepalive
lock dir
load printers
lock directory
log file
log level
mangled stack
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max log size
max packet
max xmit
message command
null passwords
packet size
passwd program
password level
password server
preload
printing
printcap name
protocol
read bmpx
read prediction
read raw
read size
root
root dir
root directory
security
server string
smbrun
socket options
status
strip dot
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time offset
username map
use rhosts
valid chars
workgroup
write raw
COMPLETE LIST OF SERVICE PARAMETER
Here is a list of all service parameters. See the section of
each parameter for details. Note that some are synonyms.
admin users
allow hosts
available
browseable
case sensitive
case sig names
copy
create mask
create mode
comment
default case
deny hosts
directory
dont descend
exec
force group
force user
guest account
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guest ok
guest only
hide dot files
hosts allow
hosts deny
invalid users
locking
lpq command
lprm command
magic output
magic script
mangle case
mangled names
mangling char
map archive
map hidden
map system
max connections
only guest
only user
path
postexec
postscript
preserve case
print command
print ok
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printable
printer
printer name
public
read only
read list
revalidate
root postexec
root preexec
set directory
share modes
strict locking
user
username
users
valid users
wide links
writable
write ok
writeable
write list
EXPLANATION OF EACH PARAMETER
admin users (G)
This is a list of users who will be granted administrative
privilages on the share. This means that they will do all
file operations as the super-user (root).
You should use this option very carefully, as any user in
this list will be able to do anything they like on the
share, irrespective of file permissions.
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Default: no admin users
Example: admin users = jason
auto services (G)
This is a list of services that you want to be automatically
added to the browse lists. This is most useful for homes and
printers services that would otherwise not be visible.
Note that if you just want all printers in your printcap
file loaded then the "load printers" option is easier.
Default: no auto services
Example: auto services = fred lp colorlp
allow hosts (S)
A synonym for this parameter is 'hosts allow'.
This parameter is a comma delimited set of hosts which are
permitted to access a services. If specified in the [global]
section, matching hosts will be allowed access to any ser-
vice that does not specifically exclude them from access.
Specific services my have their own list, which override
those specified in the [global] section.
You can specify the hosts by name or IP number. For example,
you could restrict access to only the hosts on a Class C
subnet with something like "allow hosts = 150.203.5.". The
full syntax of the list is described in the man page
hosts_access(5).
You can also specify hosts by network/netmask pairs and by
netgroup names if your system supports netgroups. The EXCEPT
keyword can also be used to limit a wildcard list. The fol-
lowing examples may provide some help:
Example 1: allow all IPs in 150.203.*.* except one
hosts allow = 150.203. EXCEPT 150.203.6.66
Example 2: allow hosts that match the given network/netmask
hosts allow = 150.203.15.0/255.255.255.0
Example 3: allow a couple of hosts
hosts allow = lapland, arvidsjaur
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Example 4: allow only hosts in netgroup "foonet" or
localhost, but deny access from one particular host
hosts allow = @foonet, localhost
hosts deny = pirate
Note that access still requires suitable user-level pass-
words.
See testparm(1) for a way of testing your host access to see
if it does what you expect.
Default:
none (ie., all hosts permitted access)
Example:
allow hosts = 150.203.5. myhost.mynet.edu.au
available (S)
This parameter lets you 'turn off' a service. If 'available
= no', then ALL attempts to connect to the service will
fail. Such failures are logged.
Default:
available = yes
Example:
available = no
browseable (S)
This controls whether this share is seen in the list of
available shares in a net view and in the browse list.
Default: browseable = Yes
Example: browseable = No
case sig names (G)
See "case sensitive"
comment (S)
This is a text field that is seen when a client does a net
view to list what shares are available. It will also be used
when browsing is fully supported.
Default: No comment string
Example: comment = Fred's Files
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config file (G)
This allows you to override the config file to use, instead
of the default (usually smb.conf). There is a chicken and
egg problem here as this option is set in the config file!
For this reason, if the name of the config file has changed
when the parameters are loaded then it will reload them from
the new config file.
This option takes the usual substitutions, which can be very
useful.
If thew config file doesn't exist then it won't be loaded
(allowing you to special case the config files of just a few
clients).
Example: config file = /usr/local/samba/smb.conf.%m
copy (S)
This parameter allows you to 'clone' service entries. The
specified service is simply duplicated under the current
service's name. Any parameters specified in the current sec-
tion will override those in the section being copied.
This feature lets you set up a 'template' service and create
similar services easily. Note that the service being copied
must occur earlier in the configuration file than the ser-
vice doing the copying.
Default:
none
Example:
copy = otherservice
create mask (S)
A synonym for this parameter is 'create mode'.
This parameter is the octal modes which are used when con-
verting DOS modes to Unix modes.
Default:
specified at compile time
Example:
create mask = 0755
create mode (S)
See create mask.
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dead time (G)
The value of the parameter (a decimal integer) represents
the number of minutes of inactivity before a connection is
considered dead, and it is disconnected. The deadtime only
takes effect if the number of open files is zero.
This is useful to stop a server's resources being exhausted
by a large number of inactive connections.
Most clients have an auto-reconnect feature when a connec-
tion is broken so in most cases this parameter should be
transparent to users.
Using this parameter with a timeout of a few minutes is
recommended for most systems.
A deadtime of zero indicates that no auto-disconnection
should be performed.
Default:
dead time = 0
Example:
dead time = 15
debug level (G)
The value of the parameter (an integer) allows the debug
level (logging level) to be specified in the smb.conf file.
This is to give greater flexibility in the configuration of
the system.
The default will be the debug level specified on the command
line.
Example:
debug level = 3
default (G)
See default service.
default case (S)
See the section on "name mangling"
default service (G)
A synonym for this parameter is 'default'.
This parameter specifies the name of a service which will be
connected to if the service actually requested cannot be
found. Note that the square brackets are NOT given in the
parameter value (see example below).
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There is no default value for this parameter. If this param-
eter is not given, attempting to connect to a nonexistent
service results in an error.
Typically the default service would be a public, read-only
service.
Example:
default service = pub
deny hosts (S)
A synonym for this parameter is 'hosts deny'.
The opposite of 'allow hosts' - hosts listed here are NOT
permitted access to services unless the specific services
have their own lists to override this one. Where the lists
conflict, the 'allow' list takes precedence.
Default:
none (ie., no hosts specifically excluded)
Example:
deny hosts = 150.203.4. badhost.mynet.edu.au
dfree command (G)
The dfree command setting should only be used on systems
where a problem occurs with the internal disk space calcula-
tions. This has been known to happen with Ultrix, but may
occur with other operating systems. The symptom that was
seen was an error of "Abort Retry Ignore" at the end of each
directory listing.
This setting allows the replacement of the internal routines
to calculate the total disk space and amount available with
an external routine. The example below gives a possible
script that might fulfill this function.
The external program will be passed a single parameter indi-
cating a directory in the filesystem being queried. This
will typically consist of the string "./". The script should
return two integers in ascii. The first should be the total
disk space in blocks, and the second should be the number of
available blocks. An optional third return value can give
the block size in bytes. The default blocksize is 1024
bytes.
Note: Your script should NOT be setuid or setgid and should
be owned by (and writable only by) root!
Default:
By default internal routines for determining the disk
capacity and remaining space will be used.
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Example:
dfree command = /usr/local/smb/dfree
Where the script dfree (which must be made executable)
could be
#!/bin/sh
df $1 | tail -1 | awk '{print $2" "$4}'
or perhaps (on Sys V)
#!/bin/sh /usr/bin/df -k $1 | tail -1 | awk
'{print $3" "$5}'
Note that you may have to replace the command names
with full path names on some systems.
directory (S)
See path.
dont descend (S)
There are certain directories on some systems (eg., the
/proc tree under Linux) that are either not of interest to
clients or are infinitely deep (recursive). This parameter
allows you to specify a comma-delimited list of directories
that the server should always show as empty.
Note that Samba can be very fussy about the exact format of
the "dont descend" entries. For example you ma need "./proc"
instead of just "/proc". Experimentation is the best policy
:-)
Default:
none (ie., all directories are OK to descend)
Example:
dont descend = /proc,/dev
exec (S)
This is an alias for preexec
force group (S)
This specifies a group name that all connections to this
service should be made as. This may be useful for sharing
files.
Default:
no forced group
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Example:
force group = agroup
force user (S)
This specifies a user name that all connections to this ser-
vice should be made as. This may be useful for sharing
files. You should also use it carefully as using it
incorrectly can cause security problems.
This user name only gets used once a connection is esta-
blished. Thus clients still need to connect as a valid user
and supply a valid password. Once connected, all file opera-
tions will be performed as the "forced user", not matter
what username the client connected as.
Default:
no forced user
Example:
force user = auser
guest account (S)
This is a username which will be used for access to services
which are specified as 'guest ok' (see below). Whatever
privileges this user has will be available to any client
connecting to the guest service. Typically this user will
exist in the password file, but will not have a valid login.
If a username is specified in a given service, the specified
username overrides this one.
One some systems the account "nobody" may not be able to
print. Use another account in this case. You should test
this by trying to log in as your guest user (perhaps by
using the "su -" command) and trying to print using lpr.
Note that as of version 1.9 of Samba this option may be set
differently for each service.
Default:
specified at compile time
Example:
guest account = nobody
getwd cache (G)
This is a tuning option. When this is enabled a cacheing
algorithm will be used to reduce the time taken for getwd()
calls. This can have a significant impact on performance,
especially when widelinks is False.
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Default:
getwd cache = No
Example:
getwd cache = Yes
guest ok (S)
See public.
guest only (S)
If this parameter is 'yes' for a service, then only guest
connections to the service are permitted. This parameter
will have no affect if "guest ok" or "public" is not set for
the service.
See the section below on user/password validation for more
information about this option.
Default:
guest only = no
Example:
guest only = yes
hide dot files (S)
This is a boolean parameter that controls whether files
starting with a dot appear as hidden files.
Default: hide dot files = yes
Example: hide dot files = no
hosts allow (S)
See allow hosts.
hosts deny (S)
See deny hosts.
group (S)
This is an alias for "force group" and is only kept for com-
patability with old versions of Samba. It may be removed in
future versions.
hosts equiv (G)
If this global parameter is a non-null string, it specifies
the name of a file to read for the names of hosts and users
who will be allowed access without specifying a password.
This is not be confused with allow hosts which is about
hosts access to services and is more useful for guest
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services. hosts equiv may be useful for NT clients which
will not supply passwords to samba.
NOTE: The use of hosts.equiv can be a major security hole.
This is because you are trusting the PC to supply the
correct username. It is very easy to get a PC to supply a
false username. I recommend that the hosts.equiv option be
only used if you really know what you are doing, or perhaps
on a home network where you trust your wife and kids :-)
Default No host equivalences
Example hosts equiv = /etc/hosts.equiv
invalid users (S)
This is a list of users that should not be allowed to login
to this service. This is really a "paranoid" check to abso-
lutely ensure an improper setting does not breach your secu-
rity.
A name starting with @ is interpreted as a unix group.
The current servicename is substituted for %S. This is use-
ful in the [homes] section.
See also "valid users"
Default No invalid users
Example invalid users = root fred admin @wheel
include (G)
This allows you to inlcude one config file inside another.
the file is included literally, as though typed in place.
It takes the standard substitutions, except %u, %P and %S
keep alive (G)
The value of the parameter (an integer) represents the
number of seconds between 'keepalive' packets. If this
parameter is zero, no keepalive packets will be sent.
Keepalive packets, if sent, allow the server to tell whether
a client is still present and responding.
Keepalives should, in general, not be needed if the socket
being used has the SO_KEEPALIVE attribute set on it (see
"socket options"). Basically you should only use this option
if you strike difficulties.
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Default:
keep alive = 0
Example:
keep alive = 60
load printers (G)
A boolean variable that controls whether all printers in the
printcap will be loaded for browsing by default.
Default: load printers = no
Example: load printers = yes
lock directory (G)
This options specifies the directory where lock files will
be placed. The lock files are used to implement the "max
connections" option.
Default: lock directory = /tmp/samba
Example: lock directory = /usr/local/samba/locks
locking (S)
This controls whether or not locking will be performed by
the server in response to lock requests from the client.
If "locking = no", all lock and unlock requests will appear
to succeed and all lock queries will indicate that the
queried lock is clear.
If "locking = yes", real locking will be performed by the
server.
This option may be particularly useful for read-only
filesystems which do not need locking (such as cdrom
drives).
Be careful about disabling locking either globally or in a
specific service, as lack of locking may result in data
corruption.
Default:
locking = yes
Example:
locking = no
log file (G)
This options allows you to override the name of the Samba
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log file (also known as the debug file).
This option takes the standard substitutions, allowing you
to have separate log files for each user or machine.
Example: log file = /usr/local/samba/log.%m
log level (G)
see "debug level"
lpq command (S)
This parameter specifies the command to be executed on the
server host in order to obtain "lpq"-style printer status
information.
This command should be a program or script which takes a
printer name as its only parameter and outputs printer
status information.
Currently four styles of printer status information are sup-
ported; BSD, SYSV, AIX and HPUX. This covers most unix sys-
tems. You control which type is expected using the "printing
=" option.
Some clients (notably Windows for Workgroups) may not
correctly send the connection number for the printer they
are requesting status information about. To get around this,
the server reports on the first printer service connected to
by the client. This only happens if the connection number
sent is invalid.
If a %p is given then the printername is put in it's place.
Otherwise it is placed at the end of the command.
Note that it is good practice to include the absolute path
in the lpq command as the PATH may not be available to the
server.
Default:
depends on the setting of "printing ="
Example:
lpq command = /usr/bin/lpq %p
lprm command (S)
This parameter specifies the command to be executed on the
server host in order to delete a print job.
This command should be a program or script which takes a
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printer name and job number, and deletes the print job.
Currently four styles of printer control are supported; BSD,
SYSV, AIX and HPUX. This covers most unix systems. You con-
trol which type is expected using the "printing =" option.
If a %p is given then the printername is put in it's place.
A %j is replaced with the job number (an integer).
Note that it is good practice to include the absolute path
in the lprm command as the PATH may not be available to the
server.
Default:
depends on the setting of "printing ="
Example 1:
lprm command = /usr/bin/lprm -P%p %j
Example 1:
lprm command = /usr/bin/cancel %p-%j
magic output (S)
This parameter specifies the name of a file which will con-
tain output created by a magic script (see magic script
below).
Warning: If two clients use the same magic script in the
same directory the output file content is undefined.
Default:
magic output = <magic script name>.out
Example:
magic output = myfile.txt
magic script (S)
This parameter specifies the name of a file which, if
opened, will be executed by the server when the file is
closed. This allows a Unix script to be sent to the Samba
host and executed on behalf of the connected user.
Scripts executed in this way will be deleted upon comple-
tion, permissions permitting.
If the script generates output, output will be sent to the
file specified by the magic output parameter (see above).
Note that some shells are unable to interpret scripts con-
taining carriage-return-linefeed instead of linefeed as the
end-of-line marker. Magic scripts must be executable "as is"
on the host, which for some hosts and some shells will
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require filtering at the DOS end.
Magic scripts are EXPERIMENTAL and should NOT be relied
upon. Default:
None. Magic scripts disabled.
Example:
magic script = user.csh
mangled map (S)
This is for those who want to directly map UNIX file names
which are not representable on DOS. The mangling of names
is not always what is needed. In particular you may have
sources for a product which runs on Windows and UNIX on a
UNIX machine. Those sources are under RCS and UNIX RCS
wants the control files to be in a directory called RCS
which being upper case gets mangled at the Windoze end mak-
ing the files difficult to access. What you really need is
to be able to map the UNIX name 'RCS' to the DOS name 'rcs'
and to map *,v to * and the reverse. The first bit is easy,
the second nigh on impossible!
So to map 'RCS' to 'rcs' you put:
mangled map = (RCS rcs)
Against the file share and when you create directory from
the DOS machine called rcs you get one called RCS on the
UNIX machine and the reverse. If there is also a file
called rcs on the UNIX end then you see two files called rcs
on dos and you have a problem!
It is also possible to put a * in the names. E.g. (*,v *)
strips the ,v off the UNIX file names, but, alas it is
impossible for such a pattern to work in reverse so it is
all but useless. A pattern like (*,a *,b) can work. The
bit which matches the * on the input side is copied to the
output side. If you create a file fred,b on DOS you get
fred,a on UNIX etc.
default: no mangled map
Example: mangled map = (RCS rcs)
mangle case (S)
See the section on "name mangling"
mangled names (S)
This controls whether non-DOS names under Unix should be
mapped to DOS-compatible names ("mangled") and made visible,
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or whether non-DOS names should simply be ignored.
See the section on "name mangling" for details on how to
control the mangling process.
If mangling is used then the mangling algorithm is as fol-
lows:
- the first (up to) five alphanumeric characters before
the rightmost dot of the filename are preserved, forced
to upper case, and appear as the first (up to) five
characters of the mangled name.
- a tilde ("~") is appended to the first part of the
mangled name, followed by a two-character unique
sequence, based on the origonal root name (i.e., the
original filename minus its final extension). The final
extension is included in the hash calculation only if
it contains any upper case characters or is longer than
three characters.
Note that the character to use may be specified using
the "mangling char" option, if you don't like ~.
- the first three alphanumeric characters of the final
extension are preserved, forced to upper case and
appear as the extension of the mangled name. The final
extension is defined as that part of the original
filename after the rightmost dot. If there are no dots
in the filename, the mangled name will have no exten-
sion (except in the case of hidden files - see below).
- files whose Unix name begins with a dot will be
presented as DOS hidden files. The mangled name will be
created as for other filenames, but with the leading
dot removed and "___" as its extension regardless of
actual original extension (that's three underscores).
The two-digit hash value consists of upper case alphanumeric
characters.
This algorithm can cause name collisions only if files in a
directory share the same first five alphanumeric characters.
The probability of such a clash is 1/1300.
The name mangling (if enabled) allows a file to be copied
between Unix directories from DOS while retaining the long
Unix filename. Unix files can be renamed to a new extension
from DOS and will retain the same basename. Mangled names do
not change between sessions.
Default:
mangled names = yes
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Example:
mangled names = no
mangling char (S)
This controls what character is used as the "magic" charac-
ter in name mangling. The default is a ~ but this may inter-
fere with some software. Use this option to set it to what-
ever you prefer.
Default:
mangling char = ~
Example:
mangling char = ^
max log file (G)
This option (an integer in kilobytes) specifies the max size
the log file should grow to. Samba periodically checks the
size and if it is exceeded it will rename the file, adding a
.old extension.
A size of 0 means no limit.
Default: max log size = 5000
Example:
max log size = 1000
max xmit (G)
This option controls the maximum packet size that will be
negotiated by Samba. The default is 65535, which is the max-
imum. In some cases you may find you get better performance
with a smaller value. A value below 2048 is likely to cause
problems.
Default: max xmit = 65535
Example:
max xmit = 8192
mangled stack (G)
This parameter controls the number of mangled names that
should be cached in the Samba server.
This stack is a list of recently mangled base names (exten-
sions are only maintained if they are longer than 3 charac-
ters or contains upper case characters).
The larger this value, the more likely it is that mangled
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names can be successfully converted to correct long Unix
names. However, large stack sizes will slow most directory
access. Smaller stacks save memory in the server (each stack
element costs 256 bytes).
It is not possible to absolutely guarantee correct long file
names, so be prepared for some surprises!
Default:
mangled stack = 50
Example:
mangled stack = 100
map archive (S)
This controls whether the DOS archive attribute should be
mapped to Unix execute bits. The DOS archive bit is set
when a file has been modified since its last backup. One
motivation for this option it to keep Samba/your PC from
making any file it touches from becoming executable under
UNIX. This can be quite annoying for shared source code,
documents, etc...
Default:
map archive = yes
Example:
map archive = no
map hidden (S)
This controls whether DOS style hidden files should be
mapped to Unix execute bits.
Default:
map hidden = no
Example:
map hidden = yes
map system (S)
This controls whether DOS style system files should be
mapped to Unix execute bits.
Default:
map system = no
Example:
map system = yes
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max connections (S)
This option allows the number of simultaneous connections to
a service to be limited. If "max connections" is greater
than 0 then connections will be refused if this number of
connections to the service are already open. A value of zero
mean an unlimited number of connections may be made.
Record lock files are used to implement this feature. The
lock files will be stored in the directory specified by the
"lock directory" option.
Default: max connections = 0
Example: max connections = 10
only user (S)
This is a boolean option that controls whether connections
with usernames not in the user= list will be allowed. By
default this option is disabled so a client can supply a
username to be used by the server.
Note that this also means Samba won't try to deduce user-
names from the service name. This can be annoying for the
[homes] section. To get around this you could use "user =
%S" which means your "user" list will be just the service
name, which for home directories is the name of the user.
Default: only user = False
Example: only user = True
message command (G)
This specifies what command to run when the server receives
a WinPopup style message.
This would normally be a command that would deliver the mes-
sage somehow. How this is to be done is up to your imagina-
tion.
What I use is:
message command = csh -c 'xedit %s;rm %s' &
This delivers the message using xedit, then removes it
afterwards. NOTE THAT IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THIS COMMAND
RETURN IMMEDIATELY. That's why I have the & on the end. If
it doesn't return immediately then your PCs may freeze when
sending messages (they should recover after 30secs, hope-
fully).
All messages are delivered as the global guest user. The
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command takes the standard substitutions, although %u won't
work (%U may be better in this case).
Apart from the standard substitutions, some additional ones
apply. In particular:
%s = the filename containing the message
%t = the destination that the message was sent to (probably
the server name)
%f = who the message is from
You could make this command send mail, or whatever else
takes your fancy. Please let me know of any really interest-
ing ideas you have.
Here's a way of sending the messages as mail to root:
message command = /bin/mail -s 'message from %f on %m' root
< %s; rm %s
If you don't have a message command then the message won't
be delivered and Samba will tell the sender there was an
error. Unfortunately WfWg totally ignores the error code and
carries on regardless, saying that the message was
delivered.
If you want to silently delete it then try "message command
= rm %s".
For the really adventurous, try something like this:
message command = csh -c 'csh < %s |&
/usr/local/samba/smbclient -M %m; rm %s' &
this would execute the command as a script on the server,
then give them the result in a WinPopup message. Note that
this could cause a loop if you send a message from the
server using smbclient! You better wrap the above in a
script that checks for this :-)
Default: no message command
Example:
message command = csh -c 'xedit %s;rm %s' &
null passwords (G)
Allow or disallow access to accounts that have null pass-
words.
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Default: null passwords = no
Example: null passwords = yes
packet size (G)
The maximum transmit packet size during a raw read. This
option is no longer implemented as of version 1.7.00, and is
kept only so old configuration files do not become invalid.
passwd program (G)
The name of a program that can be used to set user pass-
words.
This is only necessary if you have enabled remote password
changing at compile time. Any occurances of %u will be
replaced with the user name.
Default: passwd program = /bin/passwd
Example: passwd program = /sbin/passwd %u
password level (G)
Some client/server conbinations have difficulty with mixed-
case passwords. One offending client is Windows for Work-
groups, which for some reason forces passwords to upper case
when using the LANMAN1 protocol, but leaves them alone when
using COREPLUS!
This parameter defines the maximum number of characters that
may be upper case in passwords.
For example, say the password given was "FRED". If password
level is set to 1 (one), the following combinations would be
tried if "FRED" failed: "Fred", "fred", "fRed", "frEd",
"freD". If password level was set to 2 tried: "FRed",
"FrEd", "FreD", "fREd", "fReD", "frED". And so on.
The higher value this parameter is set to the more likely it
is that a mixed case password will be matched against a sin-
gle case password. However, you should be aware that use of
this parameter reduces security and increases the time taken
to process a new connection.
A value of zero will cause only two attempts to be made -
the password as is and the password in all-lower case.
If you find the connections are taking too long with this
option then you probably have a slow crypt() routine. Samba
now comes with a fast "ufc crypt" that you can select in the
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Makefile. You should also make sure the PASSWORD_LENGTH
option is correct for your system in local.h and includes.h.
On most systems only the first 8 chars of a password are
significant so PASSWORD_LENGTH should be 8, but on some
longer passwords are significant. The inlcudes.h file tries
to select the right length for your system.
Default:
password level = 0
Example:
password level = 4
password server (G)
By specifying the name of another SMB server (such as a
WinNT box) with this option, and using "security = server"
you can get Samba to do all it's username/password valida-
tion via a remote server.
This options sets the name of the password server to use. It
must be a netbios name, so if the machines netbios name is
different from it's internet name then you may have to add
it's netbios name to /etc/hosts.
The password server much be a machine capable of using the
"LM1.2X002" or the "LM NT 0.12" protocol, and it must be in
user level security mode.
NOTE: Using a password server means your unix box (running
Samba) is only as secure as your password server. DO NOT
CHOOSE A PASSWORD SERVER THAT YOU DON'T COMPLETELY TRUST.
Never point a Samba server at itself for password serving.
This will cause a loop and could lock up your Samba server!
The name of the password server takes the standard substitu-
tions, but probably the only useful one is %m, which means
the Samba server will use the incoming client as the pass-
word server. If you use this then you better trust your
clients, and you better restrict them with hosts allow!
path (S)
A synonym for this parameter is 'directory'.
This parameter specifies a directory to which the user of
the service is to be given access. In the case of printable
services, this is where print data will spool prior to being
submitted to the host for printing.
For a printable service offering guest access, the service
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should be readonly and the path should be world-writable and
have the sticky bit set. This is not mandatory of course,
but you probably won't get the results you expect if you do
otherwise.
Any occurances of %u in the path will be replaced with the
username that the client is connecting as. Any occurances of
%m will be replaced by the name of the machine they are con-
necting from. These replacements are very useful for setting
up pseudo home directories for users.
Note that this path will be based on 'root dir' if one was
specified. Default:
none
Example:
path = /home/fred+
postexec (S)
This option specifies a command to be run whenever the ser-
vice is disconnected. It takes the usual substitutions. The
command may be run as the root on some systems.
An interesting example may be do unmount server resources:
postexec = /etc/umount /cdrom
See also preexec
Default:
none (no command executed)
Example:
postexec = echo
postscript (S)
This parameter forces a printer to interpret the print files
as postscript. This is done by adding a %! to the start of
print output.
This is most useful when you have lots of PCs that persist
in putting a control-D at the start of print jobs, which
then confuses your printer.
Default: postscript = False
Example: postscript = True
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preexec (S)
This option specifies a command to be run whenever the ser-
vice is connected to. It takes the usual substitutions.
An interesting example is to send the users a welcome mes-
sage every time they log in. Maybe a message of the day?
Here is an example:
preexec = csh -c 'echo
/usr/local/samba/smbclient -M %m -I %I' &
Of course, this could get annoying after a while :-)
See also postexec
Default: none (no command executed)
Example: preexec = echo
preload
This is an alias for "auto services"
preserve case (S)
See the section on "name mangling"
print command (S)
After a print job has finished spooling to a service, this
command will be used via a system() call to process the
spool file. Typically the command specified will submit the
spool file to the host's printing subsystem, but there is no
requirement that this be the case. The server will not
remove the spool file, so whatever command you specify
should remove the spool file when it has been processed,
otherwise you will need to manually remove old spool files.
The print command is simply a text string. It will be used
verbatim, with two exceptions: All occurrences of "%s" will
be replaced by the appropriate spool file name, and all
occurrences of "%p" will be replaced by the appropriate
printer name. The spool file name is generated automatically
by the server, the printer name is discussed below.
The full path name will be used for the filename if %s is
not preceded by a /. If you don't like this (it can stuff up
some lpq output) then use %f instead. Any occurances of %f
get replaced by the spool filename without the full path at
the front.
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The print command MUST contain at least one occurrence of
"%s" or %f - the "%p" is optional. At the time a job is sub-
mitted, if no printer name is supplied the "%p" will be
silently removed from the printer command.
If specified in the [global] section, the print command
given will be used for any printable service that does not
have its own print command specified.
If there is neither a specified print command for a print-
able service nor a global print command, spool files will be
created but not processed and (most importantly) not
removed.
Note that printing may fail on some unixes from the "nobody"
account. If this happens then create an alternative guest
account that can print and set the "guest account" in the
[global] section.
You can form quite complex print commands by realising that
they are just passed to a shell. For example the following
will log a print job, print the file, then remove it. Note
that ; is the usual separator for command in shell scripts.
print command = echo Printing %s >> /tmp/print.log; lpr -P
%p %s; rm %s
You may have to vary this command considerably depending on
how you normally print files on your system.
Default:
print command = lpr -r -P %p %s
Example:
print command = /usr/local/samba/myprintscript %p %s
print ok (S)
See printable.
printable (S)
A synonym for this parameter is 'print ok'.
If this parameter is 'yes', then clients may open, write to
and submit spool files on the directory specified for the
service.
Note that a printable service will ALWAYS allow writing to
the service path (user privileges permitting) via the spool-
ing of print data. The 'read only' parameter controls only
non-printing access to the resource.
Default:
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printable = no
Example:
printable = yes
printing (G)
This parameters controls how printer status information is
interpreted on your system, and also affects the default
values for the "print command", "lpq command" and "lprm com-
mand".
Currently three printing styles are supported. They are
"printing = bsd", "printing = sysv", "printing = hpux" and
"printing = aix".
To see what the defaults are for the other print commands
when using these three options use the "testparm" program.
printcap name (G)
This parameter may be used to override the compiled-in
default printcap name used by the server (usually
/etc/printcap). See the discussion of the [printers] section
above for reasons why you might want to do this.
For those of you without a printcap (say on SysV) you can
just create a minimal file that looks like a printcap and
set "printcap name =" in [global] to point at it.
A minimal printcap file would look something like this:
print1|My Printer 1 print2|My Printer 2 print3|My Printer 3
print4|My Printer 4 print5|My Printer 5
where the | separates aliases of a printer. The fact that
the second alias has a space in it gives a hint to Samba
that it's a comment.
Default:
printcap name = /etc/printcap
Example:
printcap name = /etc/myprintcap
printer (S)
A synonym for this parameter is 'printer name'.
This parameter specifies the name of the printer to which
print jobs spooled through a printable service will be sent.
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If specified in the [global] section, the printer name given
will be used for any printable service that does not have
its own printer name specified.
Default:
none (but may be 'lp' on many systems)
Example:
printer name = laserwriter
printer name (S)
See printer.
protocol (G)
The value of the parameter (a string) is the highest proto-
col level that will be supported by the server.
Possible values are CORE, COREPLUS, LANMAN1, LANMAN2 and
NT1. The relative merits of each are discussed in the README
file.
Default: protocol = NT1
Example: protocol = LANMAN1
public (S)
A synonym for this parameter is 'guest ok'.
If this parameter is 'yes' for a service, then no password
is required to connect to the service. Privileges will be
those of the guest account.
See the section below on user/password validation for more
information about this option.
Default:
public = no
Example:
public = yes
read list (S)
This is a list of users that are given read-only access to a
service. If the connecting user is in this list then they
will not be given write access, no matter what the "read
only" option is set to. The list can include group names
using the @group syntax.
See also the "write list" option
Default:
read list =
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Example:
read list = mary, @students
read only (S)
See writable and write ok. Note that this is an inverted
synonym for writable and write ok.
read prediction (G)
This options enables or disables the read prediction code
used to speed up reads from the server. When enabled the
server will try to pre-read data from the last accessed file
that was opened read-only while waiting for packets.
Default:
read prediction = False
Example:
read prediction = True
read raw (G)
This parameter controls whether or not the server will sup-
port raw reads when transferring data to clients.
If enabled, raw reads allow reads of 65535 bytes in one
packet. This typically provides a major performance benefit.
However, some clients either negotiate the allowable block
size incorrectly or are incapable of supporting larger block
sizes, and for these clients you may need to disable raw
reads.
In general this parameter should be viewed as a system tun-
ing tool and left severely alone. See also write raw.
Default:
read raw = yes
Example:
read raw = no
read size (G)
The option "read size" affects the overlap of disk
reads/writes with network reads/writes. If the amount of
data being transferred in several of the SMB commands
(currently SMBwrite, SMBwriteX and SMBreadbraw) is larger
than this value then the server begins writing the data
before it has received the whole packet from the network, or
in the case of SMBreadbraw, it begins writing to the network
before all the data has been read from disk.
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This overlapping works best when the speeds of disk and net-
work access are similar, having very little effect when the
speed of one is much greater than the other.
The default value is 2048, but very little experimentation
has been done yet to determine the optimal value, and it is
likely that the best value will vary greatly between systems
anyway. A value over 65536 is pointless and will cause you
to allocate memory unnecessarily.
Default: read size = 2048
Example: read size = 8192
revalidate (S)
This options controls whether Samba will allow a previously
validated username/password pair to be used to attach to a
share. Thus if you connect to \serverare1 then to \ser-
verare2 it won't automatically allow the client to request
connection to the second share as the same username as the
first without a password.
If "revalidate" is True then the client will be denied
automatic access as the same username.
Default: revalidate = False
Example: revalidate = True
root (G)
See root directory.
root dir (G)
See root directory.
root directory (G)
Synonyms for this parameter are 'root dir' and 'root'.
The server will chroot() to this directory on startup. This
is not strictly necessary for secure operation. Even without
it the server will deny access to files not in one of the
service entries. It may also check for, and deny access to,
soft links to other parts of the filesystem, or attempts to
use .. in file names to access other directories (depending
on the setting of the "wide links" parameter).
Adding a "root dir" entry other than "/" adds an extra level
of security, but at a price. It absolutely ensures that no
access is given to files not in the sub-tree specified in
the "root dir" option, *including* some files needed for
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complete operation of the server. To maintain full operabil-
ity of the server you will need to mirror some system files
into the "root dir" tree. In particular you will need to
mirror /etc/passwd (or a subset of it), and any binaries or
configuration files needed for printing (if required). The
set of files that must be mirrored is operating system
dependent.
Default:
root directory = /
Example:
root directory = /homes/smb
security (G)
This option does affects how clients respond to Samba.
The option sets the "security mode bit" in replies to proto-
col negotiations to turn share level security on or off.
Clients decide based on this bit whether (and how) to
transfer user and password information to the server.
The default is "security=SHARE", mainly because that was the
only option at one stage.
The alternatives are "security = user" or "security =
server".
If your PCs use usernames that are the same as their user-
names on the unix machine then you will want to use "secu-
rity = user". If you mostly use usernames that don't exist
on the unix box then use "security = share".
There is a bug in WfWg that may affect your decision. When
in user level security a WfWg client will totally ignore the
password you type in the "connect drive" dialog box. This
makes it very difficult (if not impossible) to connect to a
Samba service as anyone except the user that you are logged
into WfWg as.
If you use "security = server" then Samba will try to vali-
date the username/password by passing it to another SMB
server, such as an NT box. If this fails it will revert to
"security = USER".
See the "password server" option for more details.
Default:
security = SHARE
Example:
security = USER
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server string (G)
This controls what string will show up in the printer com-
ment box in print manager and next to the IPC connection in
"net view". It can be any string that you wish to show to
your users.
Note that it DOES NOT affect the string that appears in
browse lists. That is controlled by a nmbd command line
option instead.
A %v will be replaced with the Samba version number.
A %h will be replaced with the hostname.
Default: server string = Samba %v
Example: server string = University of GNUs Samba
Server
smbrun (G)
This sets the full path to the smbrun binary. This defaults
to the value in the Makefile.
You must get this path right for many services to work
correctly.
Default: taken from Makefile
Example: smbrun = /usr/local/samba/bin/smbrun
root preexec (S)
This is the same as preexec except that the command is run
as root. This is useful for mounting filesystems (such as
cdroms) before a connection is finalised.
root postexec (S)
This is the same as postexec except that the command is run
as root. This is useful for unmounting filesystems (such as
cdroms) after a connection is closed.
set directory (S)
If 'set directory = no', then users of the service may not
use the setdir command to change directory.
The setdir comand is only implemented in the Digital Path-
works client. See the Pathworks documentation for details.
Default:
set directory = no
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Example:
set directory = yes
share modes (S)
This enables or disables the honouring of the "share modes"
during a file open. These modes are used by clients to gain
exclusive read or write access to a file.
These open modes are not directly supported by unix, so they
are simulated using lock files in the "lock directory". The
"lock directory" specified in smb.conf must be readable by
all users.
The share modes that are enabled by this option are
DENY_DOS, DENY_ALL, DENY_READ, DENY_WRITE, DENY_NONE and
DENY_FCB.
Enabling this option gives full share compatability but may
cost a bit of processing time on the unix server. They are
disabled by default.
Default: share modes = no
Example: share modes = yes
socket options (G)
This option (which can also be invoked with the -O command
line option) allows you to set socket options to be used
when talking with the client.
Socket options are controls on the networking layer of the
operating systems which allow the connection to be tuned.
This option will typically be used to tune your Samba server
for optimal performance for your local network. There is no
way that Samba can know what the optimal parameters are for
your net, so you must experiment and choose them yourself. I
strongly suggest you read the appropriate documentation for
your operating system first (perhaps "man setsockopt" will
help).
You may find that on some systems Samba will say "Unknown
socket option" when you supply an option. This means you
either mis-typed it or you need to add an include file to
includes.h for your OS. If the latter is the case please
send the patch to me (Andrew.Tridgell@anu.edu.au).
Any of the supported socket options may be combined in any
way you like, as long as your OS allows it.
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This is the list of socket options currently settable using
this option:
SO_KEEPALIVE
SO_REUSEADDR
SO_BROADCAST
TCP_NODELAY
IPTOS_LOWDELAY
IPTOS_THROUGHPUT
SO_SNDBUF *
SO_RCVBUF *
SO_SNDLOWAT *
SO_RCVLOWAT *
Those marked with a * take an integer argument. The others
can optionally take a 1 or 0 argument to enable or disable
the option, by default they will be enabled if you don't
specify 1 or 0.
To specify an argument use the syntax SOME_OPTION=VALUE for
example SO_SNDBUF=8192. Note that you must not have any
spaces before or after the = sign.
If you are on a local network then a sensible option might
be
socket options = IPTOS_LOWDELAY
If you have an almost unloaded local network and you don't
mind a lot of extra CPU usage in the server then you could
try
socket options = IPTOS_LOWDELAY TCP_NODELAY
If you are on a wide area network then perhaps try setting
IPTOS_THROUGHPUT.
Note that several of the options may cause your Samba server
to fail completely. Use these options with caution!
Default: no socket options
Example: socket options = IPTOS_LOWDELAY
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status (G)
This enables or disables logging of connections to a status
file that smbstatus can read.
With this disabled smbstatus won't be able to tell you what
connections are active.
Default: status = no
Example: status = yes
strip dot (G)
This is a boolean that controls whether to strup trailing
dots off filenames. This helps with some CDROMs that have
filenames ending in a single dot.
strict locking (S)
This is a boolean that controls the handling of file locking
in the server. When this is set to yes the server will check
every read and write access for file locks, and deny access
if locks exist. This can be slow on some systems.
When strict locking is "no" the server does file lock checks
only when the client explicitly asks for them.
Well behaved clients always ask for lock checks when it is
important, so in the vast majority of cases "strict locking
= no" is preferable.
Default: strict locking = no
Example: strict locking = yes
time offset (G)
This parameter is a setting in minutes to add to the normal
GMT to local time conversion. This is useful if you are
serving a lot of PCs that have incorrect daylight saving
time handling.
Default: time offset = 0
Example: time offset = 60
user (S)
See username.
username (S)
A synonym for this parameter is 'user'.
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Multiple users may be specified in a comma-delimited list,
in which case the supplied password will be tested against
each username in turn (left to right).
The username= line is needed only when the PC is unable to
supply it's own username. This is the case for the coreplus
protocol or where your users have different WfWg usernames
to unix usernames. In both these cases you may also be
better using the \\server\share%user syntax instead.
The username= line is not a great solution in many cases as
it means Samba will try to validate the supplied password
against each of the usernames in the username= line in turn.
This is slow and a bad idea for lots of users in case of
duplicate passwords. You may get timeouts or security
breaches using this parameter unwisely.
Samba relies on the underlying unix security. This parameter
does not restrict who can login, it just offers hints to the
Samba server as to what usernames might correspond to the
supplied password. Users can login as whoever they please
and they will be able to do no more damage than if they
started a telnet session. The daemon runs as the user that
they log in as, so they cannot do anything that user cannot
do.
To restrict a service to a particular set of users you can
use the "valid users=" line.
If any of the usernames begin with a @ then the name will be
looked up in the groups file and will expand to a list of
all users in the group of that name. Note that searching
though a groups file can take quite some time, and some
clients may time out during the search.
See the section below on username/password validation for
more information on how this parameter determines access to
the services.
Default:
The guest account if a guest service, else the name of
the service.
Examples:
username = fred
username = fred, mary, jack, jane, @users, @pcgroup
username map (G)
This option allows you to to specify a file containing a
mapping of usernames from the clients to the server. This
can be used for several purposes. The most common is to map
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SMB.CONF(5) smb.conf SMB.CONF(5)
usernames that users use on dos or windows machines to those
that the unix box uses. The other is to map multiple users
to a single username so that they can more easily share
files.
The map file is parsed line by line. Each line should con-
tain a single unix username on the left then a '=' followed
by a list of usernames on the right. The list of usernames
on the right may contain names of the form @group in which
case they will match any unix username in that group. The
special client name '*' is a wildcard and matches any name.
The file is processed on each line by taking the supplied
username and comparing it with each username on the right
hand side of the '=' signs. If the supplied name matrches
any of the names on the right hand side then it is replaced
with the name on the left. Processing then continues with
the next line.
If any line begins with a '#' or a ';' then it is ignored
For example to map from he name "admin" or "administrator"
to the unix name "root" you would use
root = admin administrator
Or to map anyone in the unix group "system" to the unix name
"sys" you would use
sys = @system
You can have as many mappings as you like in a username map
file.
Note that the remapping is applied to all occurances of
usernames. Thus if you connect to "\servered" and "fred" is
remapped to "mary" then you will actually be connecting to
"\servermary" and will need to supply a password suitable
for "mary" not "fred". The only exception to this is the
username passwed to the "password server" (if you have one).
The password server will receive whatever username the
client supplies without modification.
Also note that no reverse mapping is done. The main effect
this has is with printing. Users who have been mapped may
have trouble deleting print jobs as PrintManager under WfWg
will think they don't own the print job.
Default no username map
Example username map = /usr/local/samba/lib/users.map
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valid chars (S)
The option allows you to specify additional characters that
should be considered valid by the server in filenames. This
is particularly useful for national character sets, such as
adding u-umlaut or a-ring.
The option takes a list of characters in either integer or
character form with spaces between them. If you give two
characters with a colon between them then it will be taken
as an lowercase:uppercase pair.
If you have an editor capable of entering the characters
into the config file then it is probably easiest to use this
method. Otherwise you can specify the characters in octal,
decimal or hexidecimal form using the usual C notation.
For example to add the single character 'Z' to the charset
(which is a pointless thing to do as it's already there) you
could do one of the following
valid chars = Z valid chars = z:Z valid chars = 0132:0172
The last two examples above actually add two characters, and
alters the uppercase and lowercase mappings appropriately.
Default Samba defaults to using a reasonable set of
valid characters for english systems
Example
valid chars = 0345:0305 0366:0326 0344:0304
The above example allows filenames to have the swedish char-
acters in them.
valid users (S)
This is a list of users that should be allowed to login to
this service. A name starting with @ is interpreted as a
unix group.
If this is empty (the default) then any user can login. If a
username is in both this list and the "invalid users" list
then access is denied for that user.
The current servicename is substituted for %S. This is use-
ful in the [homes] section.
See also "invalid users"
Default No valid users list. (anyone can login)
Example valid users = greg, @pcusers
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wide links (S)
This parameter controls whether or not links in the Unix
file system may be followed by the server. Links that point
to areas within the directory tree exported by the server
are always allowed; this parameter controls access only to
areas that are outside the directory tree being exported.
Default:
wide links = yes
Example:
wide links = no
workgroup (G)
This controls what workgroup your server will appear to be
in when queried by clients. This can be different to the
workgroup specified in the nmbd configuration, but it is
probably best if you set them to the same value.
Default:
set in the Makefile
Example:
workgroup = MYGROUP
write ok (S)
See writable and read only.
writable (S)
A synonym for this parameter is 'write ok'. An inverted
synonym is 'read only'.
If this parameter is 'no', then users of a service may not
create or modify files in the service's directory.
Note that a printable service ('printable = yes') will
ALWAYS allow writing to the directory (user privileges per-
mitting), but only via spooling operations.
Default:
writable = no
Examples:
read only = no
writable = yes
write ok = yes
write list (S)
This is a list of users that are given read-write access to
a service. If the connecting user is in this list then they
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SMB.CONF(5) smb.conf SMB.CONF(5)
will be given write access, no matter what the "read only"
option is set to. The list can include group names using the
@group syntax.
Note that if a user is in both the read list and the write
list then they will be given write access.
See also the "read list" option
Default:
write list =
Example:
write list = admin, root, @staff
write raw (G)
This parameter controls whether or not the server will sup-
port raw writes when transferring data from clients.
Default:
write raw = yes
Example:
write raw = no
NOTE ABOUT USERNAME/PASSWORD VALIDATION
There are a number of ways in which a user can connect to a
service. The server follows the following steps in determin-
ing if it will allow a connection to a specified service. If
all the steps fail then the connection request is rejected.
If one of the steps pass then the following steps are not
checked.
If the service is marked "guest only = yes" then steps 1 to
5 are skipped
Step 1: If the client has passed a username/password pair
and that username/password pair is validated by the unix
systems password programs then the connection is made as
that username. Note that this includes the
\\server\service%username method of passing a username.
Step 2: If the client has previously registered a username
with the system and now supplies a correct password for that
username then the connection is allowed.
Step 3: The clients netbios name and any previously used
user names are checked against the supplied password, if
they match then the connection is allowed as the correspond-
ing user.
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Step 4: If the client has previously validated a
username/password pair with the server and the client has
passed the validation token then that username is used. This
step is skipped if "revalidate = yes" for this service.
Step 5: If a "user = " field is given in the smb.conf file
for the service and the client has supplied a password, and
that password matches (according to the unix systems pass-
word checking) with one of the usernames from the user=
field then the connection is made as the username in the
"user=" line. If one of the username in the user= list
begins with a @ then that name expands to a list of names in
the group of the same name.
Step 6: If the service is a guest service then a connection
is made as the username given in the "guest account =" for
the service, irrespective of the supplied password.
WARNINGS
Although the configuration file permits service names to
contain spaces, your client software may not. Spaces will be
ignored in comparisons anyway, so it shouldn't be a problem
- but be aware of the possibility.
On a similar note, many clients - especially DOS clients -
limit service names to eight characters. Smbd has no such
limitation, but attempts to connect from such clients will
fail if they truncate the service names. For this reason
you should probably keep your service names down to eight
characters in length.
Use of the [homes] and [printers] special sections make life
for an administrator easy, but the various combinations of
default attributes can be tricky. Take extreme care when
designing these sections. In particular, ensure that the
permissions on spool directories are correct.
VERSION
This man page is (mostly) correct for version 1.9.00 of the
Samba suite, plus some of the recent patches to it. These
notes will necessarily lag behind development of the
software, so it is possible that your version of the server
has extensions or parameter semantics that differ from or
are not covered by this man page. Please notify these to the
address below for rectification.
Prior to version 1.5.21 of the Samba suite, the configura-
tion file was radically different (more primitive). If you
are using a version earlier than 1.8.05, it is STRONGLY
recommended that you upgrade.
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SMB.CONF(5) smb.conf SMB.CONF(5)
OPTIONS
Not applicable.
FILES
Not applicable.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
Not applicable.
SEE ALSO
smbd(8), smbclient(1), nmbd(8), testparm(1), testprns(1),
lpq(1), hosts_access(5)
DIAGNOSTICS
[This section under construction]
Most diagnostics issued by the server are logged in a speci-
fied log file. The log file name is specified at compile
time, but may be overridden on the smbd (see smbd(8)) com-
mand line.
The number and nature of diagnostics available depends on
the debug level used by the server. If you have problems,
set the debug level to 3 and peruse the log files.
Most messages are reasonably self-explanatory. Unfor-
tunately, at time of creation of this man page the source
code is still too fluid to warrant describing each and every
diagnostic. At this stage your best bet is still to grep the
source code and inspect the conditions that gave rise to the
diagnostics you are seeing.
BUGS
None known.
Please send bug reports, comments and so on to:
Andrew.Tridgell@anu.edu.au (Andrew Tridgell)
or to the mailing list
samba@listproc.anu.edu.au
You may also like to subscribe to the announcement channel
samba-announce@listproc.anu.edu.au
To subscribe to these lists send a message to
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SMB.CONF(5) smb.conf SMB.CONF(5)
listproc@listproc.anu.edu.au with a body of "subscribe samba
Your Name" or "subscribe samba-announce Your Name".
Errors or suggestions for improvements to the Samba man
pages should be mailed to:
Andrew.Tridgell@anu.edu.au (Andrew Tridgell)
smb.conf Last change: 11/10/94 51
© 1994 Man-cgi 1.15, Panagiotis Christias <christia@theseas.ntua.gr>