1 .TH SMB.CONF 5 "08 Jan 1998" "smb.conf 1.9.18"
3 smb.conf \- configuration file for smbd
9 file is a configuration file for the Samba suite.
12 contains runtime configuration information for the
16 program provides LanManager-like services to clients
17 using the SMB protocol.
19 The file consists of sections and parameters. A section begins with the
20 name of the section in square brackets and continues until the next
21 section begins. Sections contain parameters of the form 'name = value'.
23 The file is line-based - that is, each newline-terminated line represents
24 either a comment, a section name or a parameter.
26 Section and parameter names are not case sensitive.
28 Only the first equals sign in a parameter is significant. Whitespace before
29 or after the first equals sign is discarded. Leading, trailing and internal
30 whitespace in section and parameter names is irrelevant. Leading and
31 trailing whitespace in a parameter value is discarded. Internal whitespace
32 within a parameter value is retained verbatim.
34 Any line beginning with a semicolon is ignored, as are lines containing
37 Any line ending in a \e is "continued" on the next line in the
38 customary UNIX fashion.
40 The values following the equals sign in parameters are all either a string
41 (no quotes needed) or a boolean, which may be given as yes/no, 0/1 or
42 true/false. Case is not significant in boolean values, but is preserved
43 in string values. Some items such as create modes are numeric.
44 .SH SERVICE DESCRIPTIONS
45 Each section in the configuration file describes a service. The section name
46 is the service name and the parameters within the section define the service's
49 There are three special sections, [global], [homes] and [printers], which are
50 described under 'special sections'. The following notes apply to ordinary
53 A service consists of a directory to which access is being given plus a
54 description of the access rights which are granted to the user of the
55 service. Some housekeeping options are also specifiable.
57 Services are either filespace services (used by the client as an extension of
58 their native file systems) or printable services (used by the client to access
59 print services on the host running the server).
61 Services may be guest services, in which case no password is required to
62 access them. A specified guest account is used to define access privileges
65 Services other than guest services will require a password to access
66 them. The client provides the username. As many clients only provide
67 passwords and not usernames, you may specify a list of usernames to
68 check against the password using the "user=" option in the service
71 Note that the access rights granted by the server are masked by the access
72 rights granted to the specified or guest user by the host system. The
73 server does not grant more access than the host system grants.
75 The following sample section defines a file space service. The user has write
76 access to the path /home/bar. The service is accessed via the service name
83 The following sample section defines a printable service. The service is
84 readonly, but printable. That is, the only write access permitted is via
85 calls to open, write to and close a spool file. The 'guest ok' parameter
86 means access will be permitted as the default guest user (specified elsewhere):
89 path = /usr/spool/public
95 .SS The [global] section
97 Parameters in this section apply to the server as a whole, or are defaults
98 for services which do not specifically define certain items. See the notes
99 under 'Parameters' for more information.
102 .SS The [homes] section
104 If a section called 'homes' is included in the configuration file, services
105 connecting clients to their home directories can be created on the fly by the
108 When the connection request is made, the existing services are scanned. If a
109 match is found, it is used. If no match is found, the requested service name is
110 treated as a user name and looked up in the local passwords file. If the
111 name exists and the correct password has been given, a service is created
112 by cloning the [homes] section.
114 Some modifications are then made to the newly created section:
117 The service name is changed from 'homes' to the located username
119 If no path was given, the path is set to the user's home directory.
122 If you decide to use a path= line in your [homes] section then you may
123 find it useful to use the %S macro. For example path=/data/pchome/%S
124 would be useful if you have different home directories for your PCs
125 than for UNIX access.
127 This is a fast and simple way to give a large number of clients access to
128 their home directories with a minimum of fuss.
130 A similar process occurs if the requested service name is "homes", except that
131 the service name is not changed to that of the requesting user. This method
132 of using the [homes] section works well if different users share a client PC.
134 The [homes] section can specify all the parameters a normal service section
135 can specify, though some make more sense than others. The following is a
136 typical and suitable [homes] section:
144 If guest access is specified in the [homes] section, all home directories will
145 be accessible to all clients
146 .B without a password.
147 In the very unlikely event
148 that this is actually desirable, it would be wise to also specify read only
153 Note that the browseable flag for auto home directories will be
154 inherited from the global browseable flag, not the [homes] browseable
155 flag. This is useful as it means setting browseable=no in the [homes]
156 section will hide the [homes] service but make any auto home
159 .SS The [printers] section
161 This section works like [homes], but for printers.
163 If a [printers] section occurs in the configuration file, users are able
164 to connect to any printer specified in the local host's printcap file.
166 When a connection request is made, the existing services are scanned. If a
167 match is found, it is used. If no match is found, but a [homes] section
168 exists, it is used as described above. Otherwise, the requested service name is
169 treated as a printer name and the appropriate printcap file is scanned to
170 see if the requested service name is a valid printer name. If a match is
171 found, a new service is created by cloning the [printers] section.
173 A few modifications are then made to the newly created section:
176 The service name is set to the located printer name
178 If no printer name was given, the printer name is set to the located printer
181 If the service does not permit guest access and no username was given, the
182 username is set to the located printer name.
185 Note that the [printers] service MUST be printable - if you specify otherwise,
186 the server will refuse to load the configuration file.
188 Typically the path specified would be that of a world-writable spool directory
189 with the sticky bit set on it. A typical [printers] entry would look like this:
192 path = /usr/spool/public
197 All aliases given for a printer in the printcap file are legitimate printer
198 names as far as the server is concerned. If your printing subsystem doesn't
199 work like that, you will have to set up a pseudo-printcap. This is a file
200 consisting of one or more lines like this:
202 alias|alias|alias|alias...
204 Each alias should be an acceptable printer name for your printing
205 subsystem. In the [global] section, specify the new file as your printcap.
206 The server will then only recognise names found in your pseudo-printcap,
207 which of course can contain whatever aliases you like. The same technique
208 could be used simply to limit access to a subset of your local printers.
210 An alias, by the way, is defined as any component of the first entry of a
211 printcap record. Records are separated by newlines, components (if there are
212 more than one) are separated by vertical bar symbols ("|").
214 NOTE: On SYSV systems which use lpstat to determine what printers are
215 defined on the system you may be able to use "printcap name = lpstat"
216 to automatically obtain a list of printers. See the "printcap name"
217 option for more detils.
221 Parameters define the specific attributes of services.
223 Some parameters are specific to the [global] section (eg., security).
224 Some parameters are usable in all sections (eg., create mode). All others are
225 permissible only in normal sections. For the purposes of the following
226 descriptions the [homes] and [printers] sections will be considered normal.
227 The letter 'G' in parentheses indicates that a parameter is specific to the
228 [global] section. The letter 'S' indicates that a parameter can be
229 specified in a service specific section. Note that all S parameters
230 can also be specified in the [global] section - in which case they
231 will define the default behaviour for all services.
233 Parameters are arranged here in alphabetical order - this may not create
234 best bedfellows, but at least you can find them! Where there are synonyms,
235 the preferred synonym is described, others refer to the preferred synonym.
237 .SS VARIABLE SUBSTITUTIONS
239 Many of the strings that are settable in the config file can take
240 substitutions. For example the option "path = /tmp/%u" would be
241 interpreted as "path = /tmp/john" if the user connected with the
244 These substitutions are mostly noted in the descriptions below, but
245 there are some general substitutions which apply whenever they might be
248 %S = the name of the current service, if any
250 %P = the root directory of the current service, if any
252 %u = user name of the current service, if any
254 %g = primary group name of %u
256 %U = session user name (the user name that the client wanted, not
257 necessarily the same as the one they got)
259 %G = primary group name of %U
261 %H = the home directory of the user given by %u
263 %v = the Samba version
265 %h = the hostname that Samba is running on
267 %m = the netbios name of the client machine (very useful)
269 %L = the netbios name of the server. This allows you to change your
270 config based on what the client calls you. Your server can have a "dual
273 %M = the internet name of the client machine
275 %N = the name of your NIS home directory server. This is obtained from
276 your NIS auto.map entry. If you have not compiled Samba with -DAUTOMOUNT
277 then this value will be the same as %L.
279 %R = the selected protocol level after protocol negotiation. As of
280 Samba 1.9.18 it can be one of CORE, COREPLUS, LANMAN1, LANMAN2 or NT1.
282 %d = The process id of the current server process
284 %a = the architecture of the remote machine. Only some are recognised,
285 and those may not be 100% reliable. It currently recognises Samba,
286 WfWg, WinNT and Win95. Anything else will be known as "UNKNOWN". If it
287 gets it wrong then sending me a level 3 log should allow me to fix it.
289 %I = The IP address of the client machine
291 %T = the current date and time
293 There are some quite creative things that can be done with these
294 substitutions and other smb.conf options.
298 Samba supports "name mangling" so that DOS and Windows clients can use
299 files that don't conform to the 8.3 format. It can also be set to adjust
300 the case of 8.3 format filenames.
302 There are several options that control the way mangling is performed,
303 and they are grouped here rather than listed separately. For the
304 defaults look at the output of the testparm program.
306 All of these options can be set separately for each service (or
307 globally, of course).
311 "mangle case = yes/no" controls if names that have characters that
312 aren't of the "default" case are mangled. For example, if this is yes
313 then a name like "Mail" would be mangled. Default no.
315 "case sensitive = yes/no" controls whether filenames are case
316 sensitive. If they aren't then Samba must do a filename search and
317 match on passed names. Default no.
319 "default case = upper/lower" controls what the default case is for new
320 filenames. Default lower.
322 "preserve case = yes/no" controls if new files are created with the
323 case that the client passes, or if they are forced to be the "default"
326 "short preserve case = yes/no" controls if new files which conform to 8.3
327 syntax, that is all in upper case and of suitable length, are created
328 upper case, or if they are forced to be the "default" case. This option can
329 be use with "preserve case = yes" to permit long filenames to retain their
330 case, while short names are lowered. Default no.
332 .SS COMPLETE LIST OF GLOBAL PARAMETERS
334 Here is a list of all global parameters. See the section of each
335 parameter for details. Note that some are synonyms.
529 .SS COMPLETE LIST OF SERVICE PARAMETERS
531 Here is a list of all service parameters. See the section of each
532 parameter for details. Note that some are synonyms.
538 alternate permissions
574 dos filetime resolution
634 networkstation user login
654 printer driver location
712 .SS EXPLANATION OF EACH PARAMETER
717 This is a list of users who will be granted administrative privileges
718 on the share. This means that they will do all file operations as the
721 You should use this option very carefully, as any user in this list
722 will be able to do anything they like on the share, irrespective of
733 This specifies what type of server nmbd will announce itself as in
734 browse lists. By default this is set to Windows NT. The valid options
735 are "NT", "Win95" or "WfW" meaining Windows NT, Windows 95 and
736 Windows for Workgroups respectively. Do not change this parameter
737 unless you have a specific need to stop Samba appearing as an NT
738 server as this may prevent Samba servers from participating as
739 browser servers correctly.
747 .SS announce version (G)
749 This specifies the major and minor version numbers that nmbd
750 will use when announcing itself as a server. The default is 4.2.
751 Do not change this parameter unless you have a specific need to
752 set a Samba server to be a downlevel server.
755 announce version = 4.2
758 announce version = 2.0
760 .SS auto services (G)
761 This is a list of services that you want to be automatically added to
762 the browse lists. This is most useful for homes and printers services
763 that would otherwise not be visible.
765 Note that if you just want all printers in your printcap file loaded
766 then the "load printers" option is easier.
772 auto services = fred lp colorlp
775 A synonym for this parameter is 'hosts allow'.
777 This parameter is a comma delimited set of hosts which are permitted to access
780 If specified in the [global] section then it will apply to all
781 services, regardless of whether the individual service has a different
784 You can specify the hosts by name or IP number. For example, you could
785 restrict access to only the hosts on a Class C subnet with something like
786 "allow hosts = 150.203.5.". The full syntax of the list is described in
788 .BR hosts_access (5).
790 You can also specify hosts by network/netmask pairs and by netgroup
791 names if your system supports netgroups. The EXCEPT keyword can also
792 be used to limit a wildcard list. The following examples may provide
795 Example 1: allow all IPs in 150.203.*.* except one
797 hosts allow = 150.203. EXCEPT 150.203.6.66
799 Example 2: allow hosts that match the given network/netmask
801 hosts allow = 150.203.15.0/255.255.255.0
803 Example 3: allow a couple of hosts
805 hosts allow = lapland, arvidsjaur
807 Example 4: allow only hosts in netgroup "foonet" or localhost, but
808 deny access from one particular host
810 hosts allow = @foonet, localhost
813 Note that access still requires suitable user-level passwords.
817 for a way of testing your host access to see if it
818 does what you expect.
821 none (i.e., all hosts permitted access)
824 allow hosts = 150.203.5. myhost.mynet.edu.au
826 .SS alternate permissions (S)
828 This option affects the way the "read only" DOS attribute is produced
829 for UNIX files. If this is false then the read only bit is set for
830 files on writeable shares which the user cannot write to.
832 If this is true then it is set for files whos user write bit is not set.
834 The latter behaviour is useful for when users copy files from each
835 others directories, and use a file manager that preserves
836 permissions. Without this option they may get annoyed as all copied
837 files will have the "read only" bit set.
840 alternate permissions = no
843 alternate permissions = yes
846 This parameter lets you 'turn off' a service. If 'available = no', then
847 ALL attempts to connect to the service will fail. Such failures are logged.
855 .SS bind interfaces only (G)
856 This global parameter (new for 1.9.18) allows the Samba admin to limit
857 what interfaces on a machine will serve smb requests. If affects file service
858 (smbd) and name service (nmbd) in slightly different ways.
860 For name service it causes nmbd to bind to ports 137 and 138 on
861 the interfaces listed in the 'interfaces' parameter. nmbd also binds
862 to the 'all addresses' interface (0.0.0.0) on ports 137 and 138
863 for the purposes of reading broadcast messages. If this option is
864 not set then nmbd will service name requests on all of these
865 sockets. If "bind interfaces only" is set then nmbd will check
866 the source address of any packets coming in on the broadcast
867 sockets and discard any that don't match the broadcast addresses
868 of the interfaces in the 'interfaces' parameter list. As unicast
869 packets are received on the other sockets it allows nmbd to
870 refuse to serve names to machines that send packets that arrive
871 through any interfaces not listed in the 'interfaces' list.
872 IP Source address spoofing does defeat this simple check, however
873 so it must not be used seriously as a security feature for nmbd.
875 For file service it causes smbd to bind only to the interface
876 list given in the 'interfaces' parameter. This restricts the
877 networks that smbd will serve to packets coming in those interfaces.
878 Note that you should not use this parameter for machines that
879 are serving ppp or other intermittant or non-broadcast network
880 interfaces as it will not cope with non-permanent interfaces.
883 bind interfaces only = False
886 bind interfaces only = True
889 This controls whether this share is seen in the list of available
890 shares in a net view and in the browse list.
898 This controls whether the smbd will serve a browse list to a client
899 doing a NetServerEnum call. Normally set to true. You should never
905 .SS case sensitive (G)
906 See the discussion on NAME MANGLING.
908 .SS case sig names (G)
911 .SS character set (G)
912 This allows a smbd to map incoming characters from a DOS 850 Code page
913 to either a Western European (ISO8859-1) or Easter European (ISO8859-2)
914 code page. Normally not set, meaning no filename translation is done.
922 character set = iso8859-1
924 .SS client code page (G)
925 Currently (Samba 1.9.17 and above) this may be set to one of two
926 values, 850 or 437. It specifies the base DOS code page that the
927 clients accessing Samba are using. To determine this, open a DOS
928 command prompt and type the command "chcp". This will output the
929 code page. The default for USA MS-DOS, Windows 95, and Windows NT
930 releases is code page 437. The default for western european
931 releases of the above operating systems is code page 850.
933 This parameter co-operates with the "valid chars" parameter in
934 determining what characters are valid in filenames and how
935 capitalization is done. It has been added as a convenience for
936 clients whose code page is either 437 or 850 so a convoluted
937 "valid chars" string does not have to be determined. If you
938 set both this parameter and the "valid chars" parameter the
939 "client code page" parameter MUST be set before the "valid chars"
940 in the smb.conf file. The "valid chars" string will then augment
941 the character settings in the "client code page" parameter.
943 If "client code page" is set to a value other than 850 or 437
944 it will default to 850.
946 See also : "valid chars".
950 client code page = 850
954 client code page = 437
957 This is a text field that is seen next to a share when a client does a
958 net view to list what shares are available.
960 If you want to set the string that is displayed next to the machine
961 name then see the server string command.
967 comment = Fred's Files
971 This allows you to override the config file to use, instead of the
972 default (usually smb.conf). There is a chicken and egg problem here as
973 this option is set in the config file!
975 For this reason, if the name of the config file has changed when the
976 parameters are loaded then it will reload them from the new config
979 This option takes the usual substitutions, which can be very useful.
981 If the config file doesn't exist then it won't be loaded (allowing
982 you to special case the config files of just a few clients).
985 config file = /usr/local/samba/lib/smb.conf.%m
988 This parameter allows you to 'clone' service entries. The specified
989 service is simply duplicated under the current service's name. Any
990 parameters specified in the current section will override those in the
991 section being copied.
993 This feature lets you set up a 'template' service and create similar
994 services easily. Note that the service being copied must occur earlier
995 in the configuration file than the service doing the copying.
1003 A synonym for this parameter is 'create mode'.
1005 When a file is created, the neccessary permissions are calculated
1006 according to the mapping from DOS modes to UNIX permissions, and
1007 the resulting UNIX mode is then bit-wise 'AND'ed with this parameter.
1008 This parameter may be thought of as a bit-wise MASK for the UNIX
1009 modes of a file. Any bit *not* set here will be removed from the
1010 modes set on a file when it is created.
1012 The default value of this parameter removes the 'group' and 'other'
1013 write and execute bits from the UNIX modes.
1015 Following this Samba will bit-wise 'OR' the UNIX mode created from
1016 this parameter with the value of the "force create mode" parameter
1017 which is set to 000 by default.
1019 For Samba 1.9.17 and above this parameter no longer affects directory
1020 modes. See the parameter 'directory mode' for details.
1022 See also the "force create mode" parameter for forcing particular
1023 mode bits to be set on created files.
1024 See also the "directory mode" parameter for masking mode bits on created
1037 The value of the parameter (a decimal integer) represents the number of
1038 minutes of inactivity before a connection is considered dead, and it
1039 is disconnected. The deadtime only takes effect if the number of open files
1042 This is useful to stop a server's resources being exhausted by a large
1043 number of inactive connections.
1045 Most clients have an auto-reconnect feature when a connection is broken so
1046 in most cases this parameter should be transparent to users.
1048 Using this parameter with a timeout of a few minutes is recommended
1051 A deadtime of zero indicates that no auto-disconnection should be performed.
1059 The value of the parameter (an integer) allows the debug level
1060 (logging level) to be specified in the
1062 file. This is to give
1063 greater flexibility in the configuration of the system.
1065 The default will be the debug level specified on the command line.
1072 .SS default case (S)
1074 See the section on "NAME MANGLING" Also note the addition of "short
1077 .SS default service (G)
1078 A synonym for this parameter is 'default'.
1080 This parameter specifies the name of a service which will be connected to
1081 if the service actually requested cannot be found. Note that the square
1082 brackets are NOT given in the parameter value (see example below).
1084 There is no default value for this parameter. If this parameter is not given,
1085 attempting to connect to a nonexistent service results in an error.
1087 Typically the default service would be a public, read-only service.
1089 Also note that as of 1.9.14 the apparent service name will be changed to
1090 equal that of the requested service, this is very useful as it allows
1091 you to use macros like %S to make a wildcard service.
1093 Note also that any _ characters in the name of the service used in the
1094 default service will get mapped to a /. This allows for interesting
1099 default service = pub
1105 .SS delete readonly (S)
1106 This parameter allows readonly files to be deleted. This is not normal DOS
1107 semantics, but is allowed by UNIX.
1109 This option may be useful for running applications such as rcs, where UNIX
1110 file ownership prevents changing file permissions, and DOS semantics prevent
1111 deletion of a read only file.
1114 delete readonly = No
1117 delete readonly = Yes
1119 A synonym for this parameter is 'hosts deny'.
1121 The opposite of 'allow hosts' - hosts listed here are NOT permitted
1122 access to services unless the specific services have their own lists to
1123 override this one. Where the lists conflict, the 'allow' list takes precedence.
1126 none (i.e., no hosts specifically excluded)
1129 deny hosts = 150.203.4. badhost.mynet.edu.au
1131 .SS delete veto files (S)
1133 This option is used when Samba is attempting to delete a directory
1134 that contains one or more vetoed directories (see the 'veto files' option).
1135 If this option is set to False (the default) then if a vetoed directory
1136 contains any non-vetoed files or directories then the directory delete
1137 will fail. This is usually what you want.
1139 If this option is set to True, then Samba will attempt
1140 to recursively delete any files and directories within the vetoed
1141 directory. This can be useful for integration with file serving
1142 systems such as Netatalk, which create meta-files within directories
1143 you might normally veto DOS/Windows users from seeing (eg. .AppleDouble)
1145 Setting 'delete veto files = True' allows these directories to be
1146 transparently deleted when the parent directory is deleted (so long
1147 as the user has permissions to do so).
1150 delete veto files = False
1153 delete veto files = True
1158 .SS dfree command (G)
1159 The dfree command setting should only be used on systems where a
1160 problem occurs with the internal disk space calculations. This has
1161 been known to happen with Ultrix, but may occur with other operating
1162 systems. The symptom that was seen was an error of "Abort Retry
1163 Ignore" at the end of each directory listing.
1165 This setting allows the replacement of the internal routines to
1166 calculate the total disk space and amount available with an external
1167 routine. The example below gives a possible script that might fulfill
1170 The external program will be passed a single parameter indicating a
1171 directory in the filesystem being queried. This will typically consist
1172 of the string "./". The script should return two integers in ascii. The
1173 first should be the total disk space in blocks, and the second should
1174 be the number of available blocks. An optional third return value
1175 can give the block size in bytes. The default blocksize is 1024 bytes.
1177 Note: Your script should NOT be setuid or setgid and should be owned by
1178 (and writable only by) root!
1181 By default internal routines for determining the disk capacity
1182 and remaining space will be used.
1185 dfree command = /usr/local/samba/bin/dfree
1187 Where the script dfree (which must be made executable) could be
1191 df $1 | tail -1 | awk '{print $2" "$4}'
1194 or perhaps (on Sys V)
1198 /usr/bin/df -k $1 | tail -1 | awk '{print $3" "$5}'
1201 Note that you may have to replace the command names with full
1202 path names on some systems.
1207 .SS directory mask (S)
1208 A synonym for this parameter is 'directory mode'.
1210 This parameter is the octal modes which are used when converting DOS modes
1211 to UNIX modes when creating UNIX directories.
1213 When a directory is created, the neccessary permissions are calculated
1214 according to the mapping from DOS modes to UNIX permissions, and
1215 the resulting UNIX mode is then bit-wise 'AND'ed with this parameter.
1216 This parameter may be thought of as a bit-wise MASK for the UNIX
1217 modes of a directory. Any bit *not* set here will be removed from the
1218 modes set on a directory when it is created.
1220 The default value of this parameter removes the 'group' and 'other'
1221 write bits from the UNIX mode, allowing only the user who owns the
1222 directory to modify it.
1224 Following this Samba will bit-wise 'OR' the UNIX mode created from
1225 this parameter with the value of the "force directory mode" parameter.
1226 This parameter is set to 000 by default (ie. no extra mode bits are added).
1228 See the "force directory mode" parameter to cause particular mode
1229 bits to always be set on created directories.
1231 See also the "create mode" parameter for masking mode bits on created
1235 directory mask = 0755
1238 directory mask = 0775
1240 .SS directory mode (S)
1246 Specifies that nmbd should (as a WINS server), on finding that a NetBIOS
1247 name has not been registered, treat the NetBIOS name word-for-word as
1250 Note that the maximum length for a NetBIOS name is 15
1251 characters, so the DNS name (or DNS alias) can likewise only be 15
1252 characters, maximum.
1254 Note also that nmbd will block completely until the DNS name is resolved.
1255 This will result in temporary loss of browsing and WINS services.
1256 Enable this option only if you are certain that DNS resolution is fast,
1257 or you can live with the consequences of periodic pauses in nmbd service.
1262 .SS domain controller (G)
1264 Specifies the DNS name or IP address of the machine to refer domain
1265 logons from Win95 machines to. You should never need to set this parameter.
1268 domain controller = no
1270 .SS domain logons (G)
1272 If set to true, the Samba server will serve Windows 95 domain logons
1273 for the workgroup it is in. For more details on setting up this feature
1274 see the file DOMAINS.txt in the Samba source documentation directory.
1279 .SS domain master (G)
1281 Enable WAN-wide browse list collation. Local master browsers on
1282 broadcast-isolated subnets will give samba their local browse lists, and
1283 ask for a complete copy of the browse list for the whole wide area network.
1284 Browser clients will then contact their local master browser, and will
1285 receive the domain-wide browse list, instead of just the list for their
1286 broadcast-isolated subnet.
1291 .SS dont descend (S)
1292 There are certain directories on some systems (eg., the /proc tree under
1293 Linux) that are either not of interest to clients or are infinitely deep
1294 (recursive). This parameter allows you to specify a comma-delimited list
1295 of directories that the server should always show as empty.
1297 Note that Samba can be very fussy about the exact format of the "dont
1298 descend" entries. For example you may need "./proc" instead of just
1299 "/proc". Experimentation is the best policy :-)
1302 none (i.e., all directories are OK to descend)
1305 dont descend = /proc,/dev
1307 .SS dos filetimes (S)
1308 Under DOS and Windows, if a user can write to a file they can change
1309 the timestamp on it. Under POSIX semantics, only the owner of the file
1310 or root may change the timestamp. By default, Samba runs with POSIX
1311 semantics and refuses to change the timestamp on a file if the user
1312 smbd is acting on behalf of is not the file owner. Setting this option
1313 to True allows DOS semantics and smbd will change the file timstamp as
1314 DOS requires. This is a correct implementation of a previous compile-time
1315 options (UTIME_WORKAROUND) which was broken and is now removed.
1318 dos filetimes = False
1321 dos filetimes = True
1323 .SS dos filetime resolution (S)
1324 Under the DOS and Windows FAT filesystem, the finest granulatity on
1325 time resolution is two seconds. Setting this parameter for a share
1326 causes Samba to round the reported time down to the nearest two
1327 second boundary when a query call that requires one second resolution
1330 This option is mainly used as a compatibility option for Visual C++
1331 when used against Samba shares. If oplocks are enabled on a share,
1332 Visual C++ uses two different time reading calls to check if a file
1333 has changed since it was last read. One of these calls uses a one-second
1334 granularity, the other uses a two second granularity. As the two second
1335 call rounds any odd second down, then if the file has a timestamp of an
1336 odd number of seconds then the two timestamps will not match and Visual
1337 C++ will keep reporting the file has changed. Setting this option causes
1338 the two timestamps to match, and Visual C++ is happy.
1341 dos filetime resolution = False
1344 dos filetime resolution = True
1346 .SS encrypt passwords (G)
1348 This boolean controls whether encrypted passwords will be negotiated
1349 with the client. Note that this option has no effect if you haven't
1350 compiled in the necessary des libraries and encryption code. It
1355 This is an alias for preexec
1357 .SS fake oplocks (S)
1359 Oplocks are the way that SMB clients get permission from a server to
1360 locally cache file operations. If a server grants an oplock
1361 (opportunistic lock) then the client is free to assume that it is the
1362 only one accessing the file and it will aggressively cache file
1363 data. With some oplock types the client may even cache file open/close
1364 operations. This can give enormous performance benefits.
1366 When you set "fake oplocks = yes" Samba will always grant oplock
1367 requests no matter how many clients are using the file.
1369 By enabling this option on all read-only shares or shares that you know
1370 will only be accessed from one client at a time you will see a big
1371 performance improvement on many operations. If you enable this option
1372 on shares where multiple clients may be accessing the files read-write
1373 at the same time you can get data corruption. Use this option
1376 It is generally much better to use the real oplock support except for
1377 physically read-only media such as CDROMs.
1379 This option is disabled by default.
1381 .SS follow symlinks (S)
1383 This parameter allows the Samba administrator to stop smbd from
1384 following symbolic links in a particular share. Setting this
1385 parameter to "No" prevents any file or directory that is a
1386 symbolic link from being followed (the user will get an error).
1387 This option is very useful to stop users from adding a symbolic
1388 link to /etc/pasword in their home directory for instance.
1389 However it will slow filename lookups down slightly.
1391 This option is enabled (ie. smbd will follow symbolic links)
1394 .SS force create mode (S)
1395 This parameter specifies a set of UNIX mode bit permissions that
1396 will *always* be set on a file created by Samba. This is done
1397 by bitwise 'OR'ing these bits onto the mode bits of a file that
1398 is being created. The default for this parameter is (in octel)
1399 000. The modes in this parameter are bitwise 'OR'ed onto the
1400 file mode after the mask set in the "create mask" parameter
1403 See also the parameter "create mask" for details on masking mode
1404 bits on created files.
1407 force create mode = 000
1410 force create mode = 0755
1412 would force all created files to have read and execute permissions
1413 set for 'group' and 'other' as well as the read/write/execute bits
1416 .SS force directory mode (S)
1417 This parameter specifies a set of UNIX mode bit permissions that
1418 will *always* be set on a directory created by Samba. This is done
1419 by bitwise 'OR'ing these bits onto the mode bits of a directory that
1420 is being created. The default for this parameter is (in octel)
1421 0000 which will not add any extra permission bits to a created
1422 directory. This operation is done after the mode mask in the parameter
1423 "directory mask" is applied.
1425 See also the parameter "directory mask" for details on masking mode
1426 bits on created directories.
1429 force directory mode = 000
1432 force directory mode = 0755
1434 would force all created directories to have read and execute permissions
1435 set for 'group' and 'other' as well as the read/write/execute bits
1439 This specifies a group name that all connections to this service
1440 should be made as. This may be useful for sharing files.
1446 force group = agroup
1449 This specifies a user name that all connections to this service
1450 should be made as. This may be useful for sharing files. You should
1451 also use it carefully as using it incorrectly can cause security
1454 This user name only gets used once a connection is established. Thus
1455 clients still need to connect as a valid user and supply a valid
1456 password. Once connected, all file operations will be performed as the
1457 "forced user", not matter what username the client connected as.
1466 This is a tuning option. When this is enabled a cacheing algorithm will
1467 be used to reduce the time taken for getwd() calls. This can have a
1468 significant impact on performance, especially when widelinks is False.
1477 This is an alias for "force group" and is only kept for compatibility
1478 with old versions of Samba. It may be removed in future versions.
1480 .SS guest account (S)
1481 This is a username which will be used for access to services which are
1482 specified as 'guest ok' (see below). Whatever privileges this user has
1483 will be available to any client connecting to the guest
1484 service. Typically this user will exist in the password file, but will
1485 not have a valid login. If a username is specified in a given service,
1486 the specified username overrides this one.
1488 One some systems the account "nobody" may not be able to print. Use
1489 another account in this case. You should test this by trying to log in
1490 as your guest user (perhaps by using the "su \-" command) and trying to
1494 Note that as of version 1.9 of Samba this option may be set
1495 differently for each service.
1498 specified at compile time
1501 guest account = nobody
1506 If this parameter is 'yes' for a service, then only guest connections to the
1507 service are permitted. This parameter will have no affect if "guest ok" or
1508 "public" is not set for the service.
1510 See the section below on user/password validation for more information about
1518 .SS hide dot files (S)
1519 This is a boolean parameter that controls whether files starting with
1520 a dot appear as hidden files.
1523 hide dot files = yes
1530 This is a list of files or directories that are not visible but are
1531 accessible. The DOS 'hidden' attribute is applied to any files or
1532 directories that match.
1534 Each entry in the list must be separated by a "/", which allows spaces
1535 to be included in the entry. '*' and '?' can be used to specify multiple
1536 files or directories as in DOS wildcards.
1538 Each entry must be a unix path, not a DOS path and must not include the
1539 unix directory separator "/".
1541 Note that the case sensitivity option is applicable in hiding files.
1543 Setting this parameter will affect the performance of Samba, as
1544 it will be forced to check all files and directories for a match
1545 as they are scanned.
1547 See also "hide dot files", "veto files" and "case sensitive"
1550 No files or directories are hidden by this option (dot files are
1551 hidden by default because of the "hide dot files" option).
1554 hide files = /.*/DesktopFolderDB/TrashFor%m/resource.frk/
1556 The above example is based on files that the Macintosh client (DAVE)
1557 creates for internal use, and also still hides all files beginning with
1561 If "nis homedir" is true, this parameter specifies the NIS (or YP) map
1562 from which the server for the user's home directory should be extracted.
1563 At present, only the Sun auto.home map format is understood. The form of
1566 username server:/some/file/system
1568 and the program will extract the servername from before the first ':'.
1569 There should probably be a better parsing system that copes with different
1570 map formats and also Amd (another automounter) maps.
1572 NB: The -DNETGROUP option is required in the Makefile for option to work
1573 and on some architectures the line -lrpcsvc needs to be added to the
1574 LIBSM variable. This is required for Solaris 2, FreeBSD and HPUX.
1576 See also "nis homedir"
1579 homedir map = auto.home
1582 homedir map = amd.homedir
1591 If this global parameter is a non-null string, it specifies the name of
1592 a file to read for the names of hosts and users who will be allowed access
1593 without specifying a password.
1595 This is not be confused with
1597 which is about hosts access to services and is more useful for guest services.
1599 may be useful for NT clients which will not supply passwords to samba.
1601 NOTE: The use of hosts.equiv can be a major security hole. This is
1602 because you are trusting the PC to supply the correct username. It is
1603 very easy to get a PC to supply a false username. I recommend that the
1604 hosts.equiv option be only used if you really know what you are doing,
1605 or perhaps on a home network where you trust your wife and kids :-)
1608 No host equivalences
1611 hosts equiv = /etc/hosts.equiv
1615 This allows you to include one config file inside another. The file is
1616 included literally, as though typed in place.
1618 It takes the standard substitutions, except %u, %P and %S
1622 This option allows you to setup multiple network interfaces, so that
1623 Samba can properly handle browsing on all interfaces.
1625 The option takes a list of ip/netmask pairs. The netmask may either be
1626 a bitmask, or a bitlength.
1628 For example, the following line:
1630 interfaces = 192.168.2.10/24 192.168.3.10/24
1632 would configure two network interfaces with IP addresses 192.168.2.10
1633 and 192.168.3.10. The netmasks of both interfaces would be set to
1636 You could produce an equivalent result by using:
1638 interfaces = 192.168.2.10/255.255.255.0 192.168.3.10/255.255.255.0
1640 if you prefer that format.
1642 If this option is not set then Samba will attempt to find a primary
1643 interface, but won't attempt to configure more than one interface.
1645 .SS invalid users (S)
1646 This is a list of users that should not be allowed to login to this
1647 service. This is really a "paranoid" check to absolutely ensure an
1648 improper setting does not breach your security.
1650 A name starting with @ is interpreted as a UNIX group.
1652 The current servicename is substituted for %S. This is useful in the
1655 See also "valid users"
1661 invalid users = root fred admin @wheel
1664 The value of the parameter (an integer) represents the number of seconds
1665 between 'keepalive' packets. If this parameter is zero, no keepalive packets
1666 will be sent. Keepalive packets, if sent, allow the server to tell whether a
1667 client is still present and responding.
1677 This parameter determines if Samba will produce Lanman announce
1678 broadcasts that are needed by OS/2 clients in order for them to
1679 see the Samba server in their browse list. This parameter can
1680 have three values, true, false, or auto. The default is auto.
1681 If set to False Samba will never produce these broadcasts. If
1682 set to true Samba will produce Lanman announce broadcasts at
1683 a frequency set by the parameter 'lm interval'. If set to auto
1684 Samba will not send Lanman announce broadcasts by default but
1685 will listen for them. If it hears such a broadcast on the wire
1686 it will then start sending them at a frequency set by the parameter
1689 See also "lm interval".
1699 If Samba is set to produce Lanman announce broadcasts needed
1700 by OS/2 clients (see the "lm announce" parameter) this parameter
1701 defines the frequency in seconds with which they will be made.
1702 If this is set to zero then no Lanman announcements will be
1703 made despite the setting of the "lm announce" parameter.
1705 See also "lm announce".
1713 .SS load printers (G)
1714 A boolean variable that controls whether all printers in the printcap
1715 will be loaded for browsing by default.
1723 .SS local master (G)
1724 This option allows the nmbd to become a local master browser on a
1725 subnet. If set to False then nmbd will not attempt to become a local
1726 master browser on a subnet and will also lose in all browsing elections.
1727 By default this value is set to true. Setting this value to true doesn't
1728 mean that Samba will become the local master browser on a subnet, just
1729 that the nmbd will participate in elections for local master browser.
1734 .SS lock directory (G)
1735 This option specifies the directory where lock files will be placed.
1736 The lock files are used to implement the "max connections" option.
1739 lock directory = /tmp/samba
1742 lock directory = /usr/local/samba/var/locks
1745 This controls whether or not locking will be performed by the server in
1746 response to lock requests from the client.
1748 If "locking = no", all lock and unlock requests will appear to succeed and
1749 all lock queries will indicate that the queried lock is clear.
1751 If "locking = yes", real locking will be performed by the server.
1753 This option may be particularly useful for read-only filesystems which
1754 do not need locking (such as cdrom drives).
1756 Be careful about disabling locking either globally or in a specific
1757 service, as lack of locking may result in data corruption.
1767 This options allows you to override the name of the Samba log file
1768 (also known as the debug file).
1770 This option takes the standard substitutions, allowing you to have
1771 separate log files for each user or machine.
1774 log file = /usr/local/samba/var/log.%m
1781 This parameter specifies the local path to which the home directory
1782 will be connected (see "logon home") and is only used by NT Workstations.
1789 This parameter specifies the home directory location when a Win95 or
1790 NT Workstation logs into a Samba PDC. It allows you to do "NET USE
1791 H: /HOME" from a command prompt, for example.
1794 This option takes the standard substitutions, allowing you to have
1795 separate logon scripts for each user or machine.
1798 logon home = "\\\\remote_smb_server\\%U"
1801 logon home = "\\\\%N\\%U"
1805 This parameter specifies the home directory where roaming profiles
1806 (USER.DAT / USER.MAN files for Windows 95) are stored.
1808 This option takes the standard substitutions, allowing you to have
1809 separate logon scripts for each user or machine. It also specifies
1810 the directory from which the "desktop", "start menu", "nethood" and
1811 "programs" folders, and their contents, are loaded and displayed
1812 on your Windows 95 client.
1814 The share and the path must be readable by the user for the preferences
1815 and directories to be loaded onto the Windows 95 client. The share
1816 must be writeable when the logs in for the first time, in order that
1817 the Windows 95 client can create the user.dat and other directories.
1819 Thereafter, the directories and any of contents can, if required,
1820 be made read-only. It is not adviseable that the USER.DAT file be made
1821 read-only - rename it to USER.MAN to achieve the desired effect
1822 (a MANdatory profile).
1824 Windows clients can sometimes maintain a connection to the [homes]
1825 share, even though there is no user logged in. Therefore, it is
1826 vital that the logon path does not include a reference to the
1827 homes share (i.e \\\\%N\\HOMES\profile_path will cause problems).
1830 This option takes the standard substitutions, allowing you to have
1831 separate logon scripts for each user or machine.
1834 logon path = \\\\%N\\%U\\profile
1837 logon path = \\\\PROFILESERVER\\HOME_DIR\\%U\\PROFILE
1839 .SS logon script (G)
1841 This parameter specifies the batch file (.bat) or NT command file (.cmd)
1842 to be downloaded and run on a machine when a user successfully logs in.
1843 The file must contain the DOS style cr/lf line endings. Using a DOS-style
1844 editor to create the file is recommended.
1846 The script must be a relative path to the [netlogon] service. If the
1847 [netlogon] service specifies a path of /usr/local/samba/netlogon, and
1848 logon script = STARTUP.BAT, then file that will be downloaded is:
1850 .B /usr/local/samba/netlogon/STARTUP.BAT
1852 The contents of the batch file is entirely your choice. A suggested
1853 command would be to add NET TIME \\\\SERVER /SET /YES, to force every
1854 machine to synchronise clocks with the same time server. Another use
1855 would be to add NET USE U: \\\\SERVER\\UTILS for commonly used utilities,
1856 or NET USE Q: \\\\SERVER\\ISO9001_QA.
1858 Note that it is particularly important not to allow write access to
1859 the [netlogon] share, or to grant users write permission on the
1860 batch files in a secure environment, as this would allow the batch
1861 files to be arbitrarily modified.
1864 This option takes the standard substitutions, allowing you to have
1865 separate logon scripts for each user or machine.
1868 logon script = scripts/%U.bat
1870 .SS lppause command (S)
1871 This parameter specifies the command to be executed on the server host in
1872 order to stop printing or spooling a specific print job.
1874 This command should be a program or script which takes a printer name and
1875 job number to pause the print job. Currently I don't know of any print
1876 spooler system that can do this with a simple option, except for the PPR
1877 system from Trinity College (ppr\-dist.trincoll.edu/pub/ppr). One way
1878 of implementing this is by using job priorities, where jobs having a too
1879 low priority won't be sent to the printer. See also the
1883 If a %p is given then the printername is put in its place. A %j is
1884 replaced with the job number (an integer).
1885 On HPUX (see printing=hpux), if the -p%p option is added to the lpq
1886 command, the job will show up with the correct status, i.e. if the job
1887 priority is lower than the set fence priority it will have the PAUSED
1888 status, whereas if the priority is equal or higher it will have the
1889 SPOOLED or PRINTING status.
1891 Note that it is good practice to include the absolute path in the lppause
1892 command as the PATH may not be available to the server.
1895 Currently no default value is given to this string
1897 .B Example for HPUX:
1898 lppause command = /usr/bin/lpalt %p-%j -p0
1900 .SS lpq cache time (G)
1902 This controls how long lpq info will be cached for to prevent the lpq
1903 command being called too often. A separate cache is kept for each
1904 variation of the lpq command used by the system, so if you use
1905 different lpq commands for different users then they won't share cache
1908 The cache files are stored in /tmp/lpq.xxxx where xxxx is a hash
1909 of the lpq command in use.
1911 The default is 10 seconds, meaning that the cached results of a
1912 previous identical lpq command will be used if the cached data is less
1913 than 10 seconds old. A large value may be advisable if your lpq
1914 command is very slow.
1916 A value of 0 will disable cacheing completely.
1925 This parameter specifies the command to be executed on the server host in
1926 order to obtain "lpq"-style printer status information.
1928 This command should be a program or script which takes a printer name
1929 as its only parameter and outputs printer status information.
1931 Currently six styles of printer status information are supported; BSD,
1932 SYSV, AIX, HPUX, QNX, LPRNG and PLP. This covers most UNIX systems. You
1933 control which type is expected using the "printing =" option.
1935 Some clients (notably Windows for Workgroups) may not correctly send the
1936 connection number for the printer they are requesting status information
1937 about. To get around this, the server reports on the first printer service
1938 connected to by the client. This only happens if the connection number sent
1941 If a %p is given then the printername is put in its place. Otherwise
1942 it is placed at the end of the command.
1944 Note that it is good practice to include the absolute path in the lpq
1945 command as the PATH may not be available to the server.
1948 depends on the setting of "printing ="
1951 lpq command = /usr/bin/lpq %p
1953 .SS lpresume command (S)
1954 This parameter specifies the command to be executed on the server host in
1955 order to restart or continue printing or spooling a specific print job.
1957 This command should be a program or script which takes a printer name and
1958 job number to resume the print job. See also the lppause command.
1960 If a %p is given then the printername is put in its place. A %j is
1961 replaced with the job number (an integer).
1963 Note that it is good practice to include the absolute path in the lpresume
1964 command as the PATH may not be available to the server.
1967 Currently no default value is given to this string
1969 .B Example for HPUX:
1970 lpresume command = /usr/bin/lpalt %p-%j -p2
1972 .SS lprm command (S)
1973 This parameter specifies the command to be executed on the server host in
1974 order to delete a print job.
1976 This command should be a program or script which takes a printer name
1977 and job number, and deletes the print job.
1979 Currently seven styles of printer control are supported; BSD, SYSV, AIX
1980 HPUX, QNX, LPRNG and PLP. This covers most UNIX systems. You control
1981 which type is expected using the "printing =" option.
1983 If a %p is given then the printername is put in its place. A %j is
1984 replaced with the job number (an integer).
1986 Note that it is good practice to include the absolute path in the lprm
1987 command as the PATH may not be available to the server.
1990 depends on the setting of "printing ="
1993 lprm command = /usr/bin/lprm -P%p %j
1996 lprm command = /usr/bin/cancel %p-%j
1998 .SS magic output (S)
1999 This parameter specifies the name of a file which will contain output
2000 created by a magic script (see
2004 Warning: If two clients use the same magic script in the same directory the
2005 output file content is undefined.
2007 magic output = <magic script name>.out
2010 magic output = myfile.txt
2011 .SS magic script (S)
2012 This parameter specifies the name of a file which, if opened, will be
2013 executed by the server when the file is closed. This allows a UNIX script
2014 to be sent to the Samba host and executed on behalf of the connected user.
2016 Scripts executed in this way will be deleted upon completion, permissions
2019 If the script generates output, output will be sent to the file specified by
2022 parameter (see above).
2024 Note that some shells are unable to interpret scripts containing
2025 carriage-return-linefeed instead of linefeed as the end-of-line
2026 marker. Magic scripts must be executable "as is" on the host, which
2027 for some hosts and some shells will require filtering at the DOS end.
2029 Magic scripts are EXPERIMENTAL and should NOT be relied upon.
2032 None. Magic scripts disabled.
2035 magic script = user.csh
2039 See the section on "NAME MANGLING"
2042 This is for those who want to directly map UNIX file names which are
2043 not representable on DOS. The mangling of names is not always what is
2044 needed. In particular you may have documents with file extensions
2045 that differ between DOS and UNIX. For example, under UNIX it is common
2046 to use .html for HTML files, whereas under DOS .htm is more commonly
2049 So to map 'html' to 'htm' you put:
2051 mangled map = (*.html *.htm)
2053 One very useful case is to remove the annoying ;1 off the ends of
2054 filenames on some CDROMS (only visible under some UNIXes). To do this
2055 use a map of (*;1 *)
2061 mangled map = (*;1 *)
2063 .SS mangled names (S)
2064 This controls whether non-DOS names under UNIX should be mapped to
2065 DOS-compatible names ("mangled") and made visible, or whether non-DOS names
2066 should simply be ignored.
2068 See the section on "NAME MANGLING" for details on how to control the
2071 If mangling is used then the mangling algorithm is as follows:
2073 - the first (up to) five alphanumeric characters before the rightmost dot of
2074 the filename are preserved, forced to upper case, and appear as the first (up
2075 to) five characters of the mangled name.
2077 - a tilde ("~") is appended to the first part of the mangled name, followed
2078 by a two-character unique sequence, based on the original root name
2079 (i.e., the original filename minus its final extension). The final
2080 extension is included in the hash calculation only if it contains any upper
2081 case characters or is longer than three characters.
2083 Note that the character to use may be specified using the "mangling
2084 char" option, if you don't like ~.
2086 - the first three alphanumeric characters of the final extension are preserved,
2087 forced to upper case and appear as the extension of the mangled name. The
2088 final extension is defined as that part of the original filename after the
2089 rightmost dot. If there are no dots in the filename, the mangled name will
2090 have no extension (except in the case of hidden files - see below).
2092 - files whose UNIX name begins with a dot will be presented as DOS hidden
2093 files. The mangled name will be created as for other filenames, but with the
2094 leading dot removed and "___" as its extension regardless of actual original
2095 extension (that's three underscores).
2098 The two-digit hash value consists of upper case alphanumeric characters.
2100 This algorithm can cause name collisions only if files in a directory share
2101 the same first five alphanumeric characters. The probability of such a clash
2104 The name mangling (if enabled) allows a file to be copied between UNIX
2105 directories from DOS while retaining the long UNIX filename. UNIX files can
2106 be renamed to a new extension from DOS and will retain the same basename.
2107 Mangled names do not change between sessions.
2114 .SS mangling char (S)
2115 This controls what character is used as the "magic" character in name
2116 mangling. The default is a ~ but this may interfere with some
2117 software. Use this option to set it to whatever you prefer.
2125 .SS mangled stack (G)
2126 This parameter controls the number of mangled names that should be cached in
2129 This stack is a list of recently mangled base names (extensions are only
2130 maintained if they are longer than 3 characters or contains upper case
2133 The larger this value, the more likely it is that mangled names can be
2134 successfully converted to correct long UNIX names. However, large stack
2135 sizes will slow most directory access. Smaller stacks save memory in the
2136 server (each stack element costs 256 bytes).
2138 It is not possible to absolutely guarantee correct long file names, so
2139 be prepared for some surprises!
2148 This controls whether the DOS archive attribute should be mapped to the
2149 UNIX owner execute bit. The DOS archive bit is set when a file has been modified
2150 since its last backup. One motivation for this option it to keep Samba/your
2151 PC from making any file it touches from becoming executable under UNIX.
2152 This can be quite annoying for shared source code, documents, etc...
2154 Note that this requires the 'create mask' to be set such that owner
2155 execute bit is not masked out (ie. it must include 100). See the
2156 parameter "create mask" for details.
2165 This controls whether DOS style hidden files should be mapped to the
2166 UNIX world execute bit.
2168 Note that this requires the 'create mask' to be set such that the world
2169 execute bit is not masked out (ie. it must include 001).
2170 See the parameter "create mask" for details.
2178 This controls whether DOS style system files should be mapped to the
2179 UNIX group execute bit.
2181 Note that this requires the 'create mask' to be set such that the group
2182 execute bit is not masked out (ie. it must include 010). See the parameter
2183 "create mask" for details.
2190 .SS max connections (S)
2191 This option allows the number of simultaneous connections to a
2192 service to be limited. If "max connections" is greater than 0 then
2193 connections will be refused if this number of connections to the
2194 service are already open. A value of zero mean an unlimited number of
2195 connections may be made.
2197 Record lock files are used to implement this feature. The lock files
2198 will be stored in the directory specified by the "lock directory" option.
2204 max connections = 10
2206 .SS max disk size (G)
2207 This option allows you to put an upper limit on the apparent size of
2208 disks. If you set this option to 100 then all shares will appear to be
2209 not larger than 100 MB in size.
2211 Note that this option does not limit the amount of data you can put on
2212 the disk. In the above case you could still store much more than 100
2213 MB on the disk, but if a client ever asks for the amount of free disk
2214 space or the total disk size then the result will be bounded by the
2215 amount specified in "max disk size".
2217 This option is primarily useful to work around bugs in some pieces of
2218 software that can't handle very large disks, particularly disks over
2221 A "max disk size" of 0 means no limit.
2227 max disk size = 1000
2229 .SS max log size (G)
2231 This option (an integer in kilobytes) specifies the max size the log
2232 file should grow to. Samba periodically checks the size and if it is
2233 exceeded it will rename the file, adding a .old extension.
2235 A size of 0 means no limit.
2245 This option controls the maximum number of outstanding simultaneous SMB
2246 operations that samba tells the client it will allow. You should never need
2247 to set this parameter.
2254 A synonym for this parameter is 'packet size'.
2258 This option tells nmbd what the default 'time to live' of NetBIOS
2259 names should be (in seconds) when nmbd is requesting a name using
2260 either a broadcast or from a WINS server. You should never need to
2261 change this parameter.
2266 .SS max wins ttl (G)
2268 This option tells nmbd when acting as a WINS server (wins support = true)
2269 what the maximum 'time to live' of NetBIOS names that nmbd will grant will
2270 be (in seconds). You should never need to change this parameter.
2271 The default is 3 days (259200 seconds).
2274 max wins ttl = 259200
2278 This option controls the maximum packet size that will be negotiated
2279 by Samba. The default is 65535, which is the maximum. In some cases
2280 you may find you get better performance with a smaller value. A value
2281 below 2048 is likely to cause problems.
2289 .SS message command (G)
2291 This specifies what command to run when the server receives a WinPopup
2294 This would normally be a command that would deliver the message
2295 somehow. How this is to be done is up to your imagination.
2299 message command = csh -c 'xedit %s;rm %s' &
2301 This delivers the message using xedit, then removes it
2302 afterwards. NOTE THAT IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THIS COMMAND RETURN
2303 IMMEDIATELY. That's why I have the & on the end. If it doesn't return
2304 immediately then your PCs may freeze when sending messages (they
2305 should recover after 30secs, hopefully).
2307 All messages are delivered as the global guest user. The command takes
2308 the standard substitutions, although %u won't work (%U may be better
2311 Apart from the standard substitutions, some additional ones apply. In
2314 %s = the filename containing the message
2316 %t = the destination that the message was sent to (probably the server
2319 %f = who the message is from
2321 You could make this command send mail, or whatever else takes your
2322 fancy. Please let me know of any really interesting ideas you have.
2324 Here's a way of sending the messages as mail to root:
2326 message command = /bin/mail -s 'message from %f on %m' root < %s; rm %s
2328 If you don't have a message command then the message won't be
2329 delivered and Samba will tell the sender there was an
2330 error. Unfortunately WfWg totally ignores the error code and carries
2331 on regardless, saying that the message was delivered.
2333 If you want to silently delete it then try "message command = rm %s".
2335 For the really adventurous, try something like this:
2337 message command = csh -c 'csh < %s |& /usr/local/samba/bin/smbclient \e
2340 this would execute the command as a script on the server, then give
2341 them the result in a WinPopup message. Note that this could cause a
2342 loop if you send a message from the server using smbclient! You better
2343 wrap the above in a script that checks for this :-)
2349 message command = csh -c 'xedit %s;rm %s' &
2351 .SS min print space (S)
2353 This sets the minimum amount of free disk space that must be available
2354 before a user will be able to spool a print job. It is specified in
2355 kilobytes. The default is 0, which means no limit.
2361 min print space = 2000
2363 .SS min wins ttl (G)
2365 This option tells nmbd when acting as a WINS server (wins support = true)
2366 what the minimum 'time to live' of NetBIOS names that nmbd will grant will
2367 be (in seconds). You should never need to change this parameter.
2368 The default is 6 hours (21600 seconds).
2371 min wins ttl = 21600
2374 .SS netbios aliases (G)
2376 This is a list of names that nmbd will advertise as additional
2377 names by which the Samba server is known. This allows one machine
2378 to appear in browse lists under multiple names. If a machine is
2379 acting as a browse server or logon server none of these names
2380 will be advertised as either browse server or logon servers, only
2381 the primary name of the machine will be advertised with these
2384 See also 'netbios name'.
2387 netbios aliases = TEST TEST1 TEST2
2389 .SS netbios name (G)
2391 This sets the NetBIOS name by which a Samba server is known. By
2392 default it is the same as the first component of the host's DNS name.
2393 If a machine is a browse server or logon server this name (or the
2394 first component of the hosts DNS name) will be the name that these
2395 services are advertised under.
2397 See also 'netbios aliases'.
2400 netbios name = MYNAME
2403 Get the home share server from a NIS (or YP) map. For unix systems that
2404 use an automounter, the user's home directory will often be mounted on
2405 a workstation on demand from a remote server. When the Samba logon server
2406 is not the actual home directory server, two network hops are required
2407 to access the home directory and this can be very slow especially with
2408 writing via Samba to an NFS mounted directory. This option allows samba
2409 to return the home share as being on a different server to the logon
2410 server and as long as a samba daemon is running on the home directory
2411 server, it will be mounted on the Samba client directly from the directory
2412 server. When Samba is returning the home share to the client, it will
2413 consult the NIS (or YP) map specified in "homedir map" and return the
2414 server listed there.
2422 .SS networkstation user login (G)
2423 This global parameter (new for 1.9.18p3) affects server level security.
2424 With this set (recommended) samba will do a full NetWkstaUserLogon to
2425 confirm that the client really should have login rights. This can cause
2426 problems with machines in trust relationships in which case you can
2427 disable it here, but be warned, we have heard that some NT machines
2428 will then allow anyone in with any password! Make sure you test it.
2431 networkstation user login = yes
2434 networkstation user login = no
2436 .SS null passwords (G)
2437 Allow or disallow access to accounts that have null passwords.
2443 null passwords = yes
2446 A synonym for this command is 'guest only'.
2449 This is a boolean option that controls whether connections with
2450 usernames not in the user= list will be allowed. By default this
2451 option is disabled so a client can supply a username to be used by
2454 Note that this also means Samba won't try to deduce usernames from the
2455 service name. This can be annoying for the [homes] section. To get
2456 around this you could use "user = %S" which means your "user" list
2457 will be just the service name, which for home directories is the name
2467 This boolean option tells smbd whether to issue oplocks (opportunistic
2468 locks) to file open requests on this share. The oplock code was introduced in
2469 Samba 1.9.18 and can dramatically (approx 30% or more) improve the speed
2470 of access to files on Samba servers. It allows the clients to agressively
2471 cache files locally and you may want to disable this option for unreliable
2472 network environments (it is turned on by default in Windows NT Servers).
2473 For more information see the file Speed.txt in the Samba docs/ directory.
2475 Oplocks may be selectively turned off on certain files on a per share basis.
2476 See the 'veto oplock files' parameter.
2486 This integer value controls what level Samba advertises itself as for
2487 browse elections. See BROWSING.txt for details.
2490 The maximum transmit packet size during a raw read. This option is no
2491 longer implemented as of version 1.7.00, and is kept only so old
2492 configuration files do not become invalid.
2495 This string controls the "chat" conversation that takes places
2496 between smbd and the local password changing program to change the
2497 users password. The string describes a sequence of response-receive
2498 pairs that smbd uses to determine what to send to the passwd program
2499 and what to expect back. If the expected output is not received then
2500 the password is not changed.
2502 This chat sequence is often quite site specific, depending on what
2503 local methods are used for password control (such as NIS+ etc).
2505 The string can contain the macros %o and %n which are substituted for
2506 the old and new passwords respectively. It can also contain the
2507 standard macros \en \er \et and \es to give line-feed, carriage-return,
2510 The string can also contain a * which matches any sequence of
2513 Double quotes can be used to collect strings with spaces in them into
2516 If the send string in any part of the chat sequence is a fullstop "."
2517 then no string is sent. Similarly, is the expect string is a fullstop
2518 then no string is expected.
2521 passwd chat = "*Enter OLD password*" %o\en "*Enter NEW password*" %n\en \e
2522 "*Reenter NEW password*" %n\en "*Password changed*"
2526 passwd chat = *old*password* %o\en *new*password* %n\en *new*password* %n\en *changed*
2528 .SS passwd program (G)
2529 The name of a program that can be used to set user passwords.
2531 This is only necessary if you have enabled remote password changing at
2532 compile time. Any occurrences of %u will be replaced with the user
2535 Also note that many passwd programs insist in "reasonable" passwords,
2536 such as a minimum length, or the inclusion of mixed case chars and
2537 digits. This can pose a problem as some clients (such as Windows for
2538 Workgroups) uppercase the password before sending it.
2541 passwd program = /bin/passwd
2544 passwd program = /sbin/passwd %u
2546 .SS password level (G)
2547 Some client/server combinations have difficulty with mixed-case passwords.
2548 One offending client is Windows for Workgroups, which for some reason forces
2549 passwords to upper case when using the LANMAN1 protocol, but leaves them alone
2550 when using COREPLUS!
2552 This parameter defines the maximum number of characters that may be upper case
2555 For example, say the password given was "FRED". If
2557 is set to 1 (one), the following combinations would be tried if "FRED" failed:
2558 "Fred", "fred", "fRed", "frEd", "freD". If
2559 .B password level was set to 2 (two), the following combinations would also be
2560 tried: "FRed", "FrEd", "FreD", "fREd", "fReD", "frED". And so on.
2562 The higher value this parameter is set to the more likely it is that a mixed
2563 case password will be matched against a single case password. However, you
2564 should be aware that use of this parameter reduces security and increases the
2565 time taken to process a new connection.
2567 A value of zero will cause only two attempts to be made - the password as is
2568 and the password in all-lower case.
2570 If you find the connections are taking too long with this option then
2571 you probably have a slow crypt() routine. Samba now comes with a fast
2572 "ufc crypt" that you can select in the Makefile. You should also make
2573 sure the PASSWORD_LENGTH option is correct for your system in local.h
2574 and includes.h. On most systems only the first 8 chars of a password
2575 are significant so PASSWORD_LENGTH should be 8, but on some longer
2576 passwords are significant. The includes.h file tries to select the
2577 right length for your system.
2585 .SS password server (G)
2587 By specifying the name of another SMB server (such as a WinNT box)
2588 with this option, and using "security = server" you can get Samba to
2589 do all its username/password validation via a remote server.
2591 This options sets the name of the password server to use. It must be a
2592 netbios name, so if the machine's netbios name is different from its
2593 internet name then you may have to add its netbios name to
2596 The password server much be a machine capable of using the "LM1.2X002"
2597 or the "LM NT 0.12" protocol, and it must be in user level security
2600 NOTE: Using a password server means your UNIX box (running Samba) is
2601 only as secure as your password server. DO NOT CHOOSE A PASSWORD
2602 SERVER THAT YOU DON'T COMPLETELY TRUST.
2604 Never point a Samba server at itself for password serving. This will
2605 cause a loop and could lock up your Samba server!
2607 The name of the password server takes the standard substitutions, but
2608 probably the only useful one is %m, which means the Samba server will
2609 use the incoming client as the password server. If you use this then
2610 you better trust your clients, and you better restrict them with hosts
2613 If you list several hosts in the "password server" option then smbd
2614 will try each in turn till it finds one that responds. This is useful
2615 in case your primary server goes down.
2617 If you are using a WindowsNT server as your password server then you
2618 will have to ensure that your users are able to login from the Samba
2619 server, as the network logon will appear to come from there rather
2620 than from the users workstation.
2623 A synonym for this parameter is 'directory'.
2625 This parameter specifies a directory to which the user of the service is to
2626 be given access. In the case of printable services, this is where print data
2627 will spool prior to being submitted to the host for printing.
2629 For a printable service offering guest access, the service should be readonly
2630 and the path should be world-writable and have the sticky bit set. This is not
2631 mandatory of course, but you probably won't get the results you expect if you
2634 Any occurrences of %u in the path will be replaced with the username
2635 that the client is connecting as. Any occurrences of %m will be
2636 replaced by the name of the machine they are connecting from. These
2637 replacements are very useful for setting up pseudo home directories
2640 Note that this path will be based on 'root dir' if one was specified.
2649 This option specifies a command to be run whenever the service is
2650 disconnected. It takes the usual substitutions. The command may be run
2651 as the root on some systems.
2653 An interesting example may be do unmount server resources:
2655 postexec = /etc/umount /cdrom
2660 none (no command executed)
2663 postexec = echo \e"%u disconnected from %S from %m (%I)\e" >> /tmp/log
2666 This parameter forces a printer to interpret the print files as
2667 postscript. This is done by adding a %! to the start of print output.
2669 This is most useful when you have lots of PCs that persist in putting
2670 a control-D at the start of print jobs, which then confuses your
2681 This option specifies a command to be run whenever the service is
2682 connected to. It takes the usual substitutions.
2684 An interesting example is to send the users a welcome message every
2685 time they log in. Maybe a message of the day? Here is an example:
2687 preexec = csh -c 'echo \e"Welcome to %S!\e" | \e
2688 /usr/local/samba/bin/smbclient -M %m -I %I' &
2690 Of course, this could get annoying after a while :-)
2695 none (no command executed)
2698 preexec = echo \e"%u connected to %S from %m (%I)\e" >> /tmp/log
2700 .SS preferred master (G)
2701 This boolean parameter controls if Samba is a preferred master browser
2703 If this is set to true, on startup, samba will force an election,
2704 and it will have a slight advantage in winning the election.
2705 It is recommended that this parameter is used in conjunction
2706 with domain master = yes, so that samba can guarantee becoming
2709 Use this option with caution, because if there are several hosts
2710 (whether samba servers, Windows 95 or NT) that are preferred master
2711 browsers on the same subnet, they will each periodically and continuously
2712 attempt to become the local master browser. This will result in
2713 unnecessary broadcast traffic and reduced browsing capabilities.
2719 preferred master = no
2722 This is an alias for "auto services"
2724 .SS preserve case (S)
2726 This controls if new filenames are created with the case that the
2727 client passes, or if they are forced to be the "default" case.
2732 See the section on "NAME MANGLING" for a fuller discussion.
2734 .SS print command (S)
2735 After a print job has finished spooling to a service, this command will be
2736 used via a system() call to process the spool file. Typically the command
2737 specified will submit the spool file to the host's printing subsystem, but
2738 there is no requirement that this be the case. The server will not remove the
2739 spool file, so whatever command you specify should remove the spool file when
2740 it has been processed, otherwise you will need to manually remove old spool
2743 The print command is simply a text string. It will be used verbatim,
2744 with two exceptions: All occurrences of "%s" will be replaced by the
2745 appropriate spool file name, and all occurrences of "%p" will be
2746 replaced by the appropriate printer name. The spool file name is
2747 generated automatically by the server, the printer name is discussed
2750 The full path name will be used for the filename if %s is not preceded
2751 by a /. If you don't like this (it can stuff up some lpq output) then
2752 use %f instead. Any occurrences of %f get replaced by the spool
2753 filename without the full path at the front.
2755 The print command MUST contain at least one occurrence of "%s" or %f -
2756 the "%p" is optional. At the time a job is submitted, if no printer
2757 name is supplied the "%p" will be silently removed from the printer
2760 If specified in the [global] section, the print command given will be used
2761 for any printable service that does not have its own print command specified.
2763 If there is neither a specified print command for a printable service nor a
2764 global print command, spool files will be created but not processed and (most
2765 importantly) not removed.
2767 Note that printing may fail on some UNIXes from the "nobody"
2768 account. If this happens then create an alternative guest account that
2769 can print and set the "guest account" in the [global] section.
2771 You can form quite complex print commands by realising that they are
2772 just passed to a shell. For example the following will log a print
2773 job, print the file, then remove it. Note that ; is the usual
2774 separator for command in shell scripts.
2776 print command = echo Printing %s >> /tmp/print.log; lpr -P %p %s; rm %s
2778 You may have to vary this command considerably depending on how you
2779 normally print files on your system.
2782 print command = lpr -r -P %p %s
2785 print command = /usr/local/samba/bin/myprintscript %p %s
2790 A synonym for this parameter is 'print ok'.
2792 If this parameter is 'yes', then clients may open, write to and submit spool
2793 files on the directory specified for the service.
2795 Note that a printable service will ALWAYS allow writing to the service path
2796 (user privileges permitting) via the spooling of print data. The 'read only'
2797 parameter controls only non-printing access to the resource.
2805 .SS printcap name (G)
2806 This parameter may be used to override the compiled-in default printcap
2807 name used by the server (usually /etc/printcap). See the discussion of the
2808 [printers] section above for reasons why you might want to do this.
2810 On SystemV systems that use lpstat to list available printers you
2811 can use "printcap name = lpstat" to automatically obtain lists of
2812 available printers. This is the default for systems that define
2813 SYSV at compile time in Samba (this includes most SystemV based
2814 systems). If "printcap name" is set to lpstat on these systems then
2815 Samba will launch "lpstat -v" and attempt to parse the output to
2816 obtain a printer list.
2818 A minimal printcap file would look something like this:
2830 where the | separates aliases of a printer. The fact that the second
2831 alias has a space in it gives a hint to Samba that it's a comment.
2833 NOTE: Under AIX the default printcap name is "/etc/qconfig". Samba
2834 will assume the file is in AIX "qconfig" format if the string
2835 "/qconfig" appears in the printcap filename.
2838 printcap name = /etc/printcap
2841 printcap name = /etc/myprintcap
2844 A synonym for this parameter is 'printer name'.
2846 This parameter specifies the name of the printer to which print jobs spooled
2847 through a printable service will be sent.
2849 If specified in the [global] section, the printer name given will be used
2850 for any printable service that does not have its own printer name specified.
2853 none (but may be 'lp' on many systems)
2856 printer name = laserwriter
2858 .SS printer driver (S)
2859 This option allows you to control the string that clients receive when
2860 they ask the server for the printer driver associated with a
2861 printer. If you are using Windows95 or WindowsNT then you can use this
2862 to automate the setup of printers on your system.
2864 You need to set this parameter to the exact string (case sensitive)
2865 that describes the appropriate printer driver for your system.
2866 If you don't know the exact string to use then you should first try
2867 with no "printer driver" option set and the client will give you a
2868 list of printer drivers. The appropriate strings are shown in a
2869 scrollbox after you have chosen the printer manufacturer.
2872 printer driver = HP LaserJet 4L
2874 .SS printer name (S)
2878 .SS printer driver file (G)
2879 This parameter tells Samba where the printer driver definition file,
2880 used when serving drivers to Windows 95 clients, is to be found. If
2881 this is not set, the default is :
2883 SAMBA_INSTALL_DIRECTORY/lib/printers.def
2885 This file is created from Windows 95 'msprint.def' files found on the
2886 Windows 95 client system. For more details on setting up serving of
2887 printer drivers to Windows 95 clients, see the documentation file
2888 docs/PRINTER_DRIVER.txt.
2891 None (set in compile).
2894 printer driver file = /usr/local/samba/printers/drivers.def
2897 .B printer driver location
2899 .SS printer driver location (S)
2900 This parameter tells clients of a particular printer share where
2901 to find the printer driver files for the automatic installation
2902 of drivers for Windows 95 machines. If Samba is set up to serve
2903 printer drivers to Windows 95 machines, this should be set to
2905 \e\eMACHINE\ePRINTER$
2907 Where MACHINE is the NetBIOS name of your Samba server, and PRINTER$
2908 is a share you set up for serving printer driver files. For more
2909 details on setting this up see the documentation file
2910 docs/PRINTER_DRIVER.txt.
2916 printer driver location = \e\eMACHINE\ePRINTER$
2919 .B printer driver file
2923 This parameters controls how printer status information is interpreted
2924 on your system, and also affects the default values for the "print
2925 command", "lpq command" and "lprm command".
2927 Currently six printing styles are supported. They are "printing =
2928 bsd", "printing = sysv", "printing = hpux", "printing = aix",
2929 "printing = qnx" and "printing = plp".
2931 To see what the defaults are for the other print commands when using
2932 these three options use the "testparm" program.
2934 As of version 1.9.18 of Samba this option can be set on a per printer basis
2937 The value of the parameter (a string) is the highest protocol level that will
2938 be supported by the server.
2940 Possible values are CORE, COREPLUS, LANMAN1, LANMAN2 and NT1. The relative
2941 merits of each are discussed in the README file.
2943 Normally this option should not be set as the automatic negotiation
2944 phase in the SMB protocol takes care of choosing the appropriate protocol.
2952 A synonym for this parameter is 'guest ok'.
2954 If this parameter is 'yes' for a service, then no password is required
2955 to connect to the service. Privileges will be those of the guest
2958 See the section below on user/password validation for more information about
2967 This is a list of users that are given read-only access to a
2968 service. If the connecting user is in this list then they will
2969 not be given write access, no matter what the "read only" option
2970 is set to. The list can include group names using the @group syntax.
2972 See also the "write list" option
2978 read list = mary, @students
2985 Note that this is an inverted synonym for writable and write ok.
2986 .SS read prediction (G)
2987 This options enables or disables the read prediction code used to
2988 speed up reads from the server. When enabled the server will try to
2989 pre-read data from the last accessed file that was opened read-only
2990 while waiting for packets.
2993 read prediction = False
2996 read prediction = True
2998 This parameter controls whether or not the server will support raw reads when
2999 transferring data to clients.
3001 If enabled, raw reads allow reads of 65535 bytes in one packet. This
3002 typically provides a major performance benefit.
3004 However, some clients either negotiate the allowable block size incorrectly
3005 or are incapable of supporting larger block sizes, and for these clients you
3006 may need to disable raw reads.
3008 In general this parameter should be viewed as a system tuning tool and left
3009 severely alone. See also
3019 The option "read size" affects the overlap of disk reads/writes with
3020 network reads/writes. If the amount of data being transferred in
3021 several of the SMB commands (currently SMBwrite, SMBwriteX and
3022 SMBreadbraw) is larger than this value then the server begins writing
3023 the data before it has received the whole packet from the network, or
3024 in the case of SMBreadbraw, it begins writing to the network before
3025 all the data has been read from disk.
3027 This overlapping works best when the speeds of disk and network access
3028 are similar, having very little effect when the speed of one is much
3029 greater than the other.
3031 The default value is 2048, but very little experimentation has been
3032 done yet to determine the optimal value, and it is likely that the best
3033 value will vary greatly between systems anyway. A value over 65536 is
3034 pointless and will cause you to allocate memory unnecessarily.
3042 .SS remote announce (G)
3044 This option allows you to setup nmbd to periodically announce itself
3045 to arbitrary IP addresses with an arbitrary workgroup name.
3047 This is useful if you want your Samba server to appear in a remote
3048 workgroup for which the normal browse propagation rules don't
3049 work. The remote workgroup can be anywhere that you can send IP
3054 remote announce = 192.168.2.255/SERVERS 192.168.4.255/STAFF
3056 the above line would cause nmbd to announce itself to the two given IP
3057 addresses using the given workgroup names. If you leave out the
3058 workgroup name then the one given in the "workgroup" option is used
3061 The IP addresses you choose would normally be the broadcast addresses
3062 of the remote networks, but can also be the IP addresses of known
3063 browse masters if your network config is that stable.
3065 This option replaces similar functionality from the nmbd lmhosts file.
3067 .SS remote browse sync (G)
3069 This option allows you to setup nmbd to periodically request synchronisation
3070 of browse lists with the master browser of a samba server that is on a remote
3071 segment. This option will allow you to gain browse lists for multiple
3072 workgroups across routed networks. This is done in a manner that does not work
3073 with any non-samba servers.
3075 This is useful if you want your Samba server and all local clients
3076 to appear in a remote workgroup for which the normal browse propagation
3077 rules don't work. The remote workgroup can be anywhere that you can send IP
3082 remote browse sync = 192.168.2.255 192.168.4.255
3084 the above line would cause nmbd to request the master browser on the
3085 specified subnets or addresses to synchronise their browse lists with
3088 The IP addresses you choose would normally be the broadcast addresses
3089 of the remote networks, but can also be the IP addresses of known
3090 browse masters if your network config is that stable. If a machine IP
3091 address is given Samba makes NO attempt to validate that the remote
3092 machine is available, is listening, nor that it is in fact the browse
3093 master on it's segment.
3098 This options controls whether Samba will allow a previously validated
3099 username/password pair to be used to attach to a share. Thus if you
3100 connect to \e\eserver\eshare1 then to \e\eserver\eshare2 it won't
3101 automatically allow the client to request connection to the second
3102 share as the same username as the first without a password.
3104 If "revalidate" is True then the client will be denied automatic
3105 access as the same username.
3119 .SS root directory (G)
3120 Synonyms for this parameter are 'root dir' and 'root'.
3122 The server will chroot() to this directory on startup. This is not
3123 strictly necessary for secure operation. Even without it the server
3124 will deny access to files not in one of the service entries. It may
3125 also check for, and deny access to, soft links to other parts of the
3126 filesystem, or attempts to use .. in file names to access other
3127 directories (depending on the setting of the "wide links" parameter).
3129 Adding a "root dir" entry other than "/" adds an extra level of security,
3130 but at a price. It absolutely ensures that no access is given to files not
3131 in the sub-tree specified in the "root dir" option, *including* some files
3132 needed for complete operation of the server. To maintain full operability
3133 of the server you will need to mirror some system files into the "root dir"
3134 tree. In particular you will need to mirror /etc/passwd (or a subset of it),
3135 and any binaries or configuration files needed for printing (if required).
3136 The set of files that must be mirrored is operating system dependent.
3142 root directory = /homes/smb
3143 .SS root postexec (S)
3145 This is the same as postexec except that the command is run as
3146 root. This is useful for unmounting filesystems (such as cdroms) after
3147 a connection is closed.
3149 .SS root preexec (S)
3151 This is the same as preexec except that the command is run as
3152 root. This is useful for mounting filesystems (such as cdroms) before
3153 a connection is finalised.
3156 This option affects how clients respond to Samba.
3158 The option sets the "security mode bit" in replies to protocol negotiations
3159 to turn share level security on or off. Clients decide based on this bit
3160 whether (and how) to transfer user and password information to the server.
3162 The default is "security=SHARE", mainly because that was the only
3163 option at one stage.
3165 The alternatives are "security = user" or "security = server".
3167 If your PCs use usernames that are the same as their usernames on the
3168 UNIX machine then you will want to use "security = user". If you
3169 mostly use usernames that don't exist on the UNIX box then use
3172 There is a bug in WfWg that may affect your decision. When in user
3173 level security a WfWg client will totally ignore the password you type
3174 in the "connect drive" dialog box. This makes it very difficult (if
3175 not impossible) to connect to a Samba service as anyone except the
3176 user that you are logged into WfWg as.
3178 If you use "security = server" then Samba will try to validate the
3179 username/password by passing it to another SMB server, such as an NT
3180 box. If this fails it will revert to "security = USER".
3182 See the "password server" option for more details.
3189 .SS server string (G)
3190 This controls what string will show up in the printer comment box in
3191 print manager and next to the IPC connection in "net view". It can be
3192 any string that you wish to show to your users.
3194 It also sets what will appear in browse lists next to the machine name.
3196 A %v will be replaced with the Samba version number.
3198 A %h will be replaced with the hostname.
3201 server string = Samba %v
3204 server string = University of GNUs Samba Server
3206 .SS set directory (S)
3207 If 'set directory = no', then users of the service may not use the setdir
3208 command to change directory.
3210 The setdir command is only implemented in the Digital Pathworks client. See the
3211 Pathworks documentation for details.
3219 .SS shared file entries (G)
3220 This parameter has been removed (as of Samba 1.9.18 and above). The new
3221 System V shared memory code prohibits the user from allocating the
3222 share hash bucket size directly.
3224 .SS shared mem size (G)
3225 This parameter is only useful when Samba has been compiled with FAST_SHARE_MODES.
3226 It specifies the size of the shared memory (in bytes) to use between smbd
3227 processes. You should never change this parameter unless you have studied
3228 the source and know what you are doing. This parameter defaults to 1024
3229 multiplied by the setting of the maximum number of open files in the
3230 file local.h in the Samba source code. MAX_OPEN_FILES is normally set
3231 to 100, so this parameter defaults to 102400 bytes.
3234 shared mem size = 102400
3236 .SS smb passwd file (G)
3237 This option sets the path to the encrypted smbpasswd file. This is a *VERY
3238 DANGEROUS OPTION* if the smb.conf is user writable. By default the path
3239 to the smbpasswd file is compiled into Samba.
3242 This sets the full path to the smbrun binary. This defaults to the
3243 value in the Makefile.
3245 You must get this path right for many services to work correctly.
3251 smbrun = /usr/local/samba/bin/smbrun
3255 This enables or disables the honouring of the "share modes" during a
3256 file open. These modes are used by clients to gain exclusive read or
3257 write access to a file.
3259 These open modes are not directly supported by UNIX, so they are
3260 simulated using lock files in the "lock directory". The "lock
3261 directory" specified in smb.conf must be readable by all users.
3263 The share modes that are enabled by this option are DENY_DOS,
3264 DENY_ALL, DENY_READ, DENY_WRITE, DENY_NONE and DENY_FCB.
3266 Enabling this option gives full share compatibility but may cost a bit
3267 of processing time on the UNIX server. They are enabled by default.
3275 .SS short preserve case (S)
3277 This controls if new short filenames are created with the case that
3278 the client passes, or if they are forced to be the "default" case.
3281 short preserve case = no
3283 See the section on "NAME MANGLING" for a fuller discussion.
3285 .SS socket address (G)
3287 This option allows you to control what address Samba will listen for
3288 connections on. This is used to support multiple virtual interfaces on
3289 the one server, each with a different configuration.
3291 By default samba will accept connections on any address.
3294 socket address = 192.168.2.20
3296 .SS socket options (G)
3297 This option (which can also be invoked with the -O command line
3298 option) allows you to set socket options to be used when talking with
3301 Socket options are controls on the networking layer of the operating
3302 systems which allow the connection to be tuned.
3304 This option will typically be used to tune your Samba server for
3305 optimal performance for your local network. There is no way that Samba
3306 can know what the optimal parameters are for your net, so you must
3307 experiment and choose them yourself. I strongly suggest you read the
3308 appropriate documentation for your operating system first (perhaps
3309 "man setsockopt" will help).
3311 You may find that on some systems Samba will say "Unknown socket
3312 option" when you supply an option. This means you either mis-typed it
3313 or you need to add an include file to includes.h for your OS. If the
3314 latter is the case please send the patch to me
3315 (samba-bugs@samba.anu.edu.au).
3317 Any of the supported socket options may be combined in any way you
3318 like, as long as your OS allows it.
3320 This is the list of socket options currently settable using this
3343 Those marked with a * take an integer argument. The others can
3344 optionally take a 1 or 0 argument to enable or disable the option, by
3345 default they will be enabled if you don't specify 1 or 0.
3347 To specify an argument use the syntax SOME_OPTION=VALUE for example
3348 SO_SNDBUF=8192. Note that you must not have any spaces before or after
3351 If you are on a local network then a sensible option might be
3353 socket options = IPTOS_LOWDELAY
3355 If you have an almost unloaded local network and you don't mind a lot
3356 of extra CPU usage in the server then you could try
3358 socket options = IPTOS_LOWDELAY TCP_NODELAY
3360 If you are on a wide area network then perhaps try setting
3363 Note that several of the options may cause your Samba server to fail
3364 completely. Use these options with caution!
3370 socket options = IPTOS_LOWDELAY
3376 This enables or disables logging of connections to a status file that
3382 won't be able to tell you what
3383 connections are active.
3391 .SS strict locking (S)
3392 This is a boolean that controls the handling of file locking in the
3393 server. When this is set to yes the server will check every read and
3394 write access for file locks, and deny access if locks exist. This can
3395 be slow on some systems.
3397 When strict locking is "no" the server does file lock checks only when
3398 the client explicitly asks for them.
3400 Well behaved clients always ask for lock checks when it is important,
3401 so in the vast majority of cases "strict locking = no" is preferable.
3407 strict locking = yes
3410 This is a boolean that controls whether to strip trailing dots off
3411 UNIX filenames. This helps with some CDROMs that have filenames ending in a
3421 This parameter maps how Samba debug messages are logged onto the
3422 system syslog logging levels. Samba debug level zero maps onto
3423 syslog LOG_ERR, debug level one maps onto LOG_WARNING, debug
3424 level two maps to LOG_NOTICE, debug level three maps onto LOG_INFO.
3425 The paramter sets the threshold for doing the mapping, all Samba
3426 debug messages above this threashold are mapped to syslog LOG_DEBUG
3434 If this parameter is set then Samba debug messages are logged into
3435 the system syslog only, and not to the debug log files.
3442 This is a boolean parameter that controls whether writes will always
3443 be written to stable storage before the write call returns. If this is
3444 false then the server will be guided by the client's request in each
3445 write call (clients can set a bit indicating that a particular write
3446 should be synchronous). If this is true then every write will be
3447 followed by a fsync() call to ensure the data is written to disk.
3456 This parameter is a setting in minutes to add to the normal GMT to
3457 local time conversion. This is useful if you are serving a lot of PCs
3458 that have incorrect daylight saving time handling.
3467 This parameter determines if nmbd advertises itself as a time server
3468 to Windows clients. The default is False.
3476 .SS unix realname (G)
3477 This boolean parameter when set causes samba to supply the real name field
3478 from the unix password file to the client. This is useful for setting up
3479 mail clients and WWW browsers on systems used by more than one person.
3491 A synonym for this parameter is 'user'.
3493 Multiple users may be specified in a comma-delimited list, in which case the
3494 supplied password will be tested against each username in turn (left to right).
3496 The username= line is needed only when the PC is unable to supply its own
3497 username. This is the case for the coreplus protocol or where your
3498 users have different WfWg usernames to UNIX usernames. In both these
3499 cases you may also be better using the \e\eserver\eshare%user syntax
3502 The username= line is not a great solution in many cases as it means Samba
3503 will try to validate the supplied password against each of the
3504 usernames in the username= line in turn. This is slow and a bad idea for
3505 lots of users in case of duplicate passwords. You may get timeouts or
3506 security breaches using this parameter unwisely.
3508 Samba relies on the underlying UNIX security. This parameter does not
3509 restrict who can login, it just offers hints to the Samba server as to
3510 what usernames might correspond to the supplied password. Users can
3511 login as whoever they please and they will be able to do no more
3512 damage than if they started a telnet session. The daemon runs as the
3513 user that they log in as, so they cannot do anything that user cannot
3516 To restrict a service to a particular set of users you can use the
3517 "valid users=" line.
3519 If any of the usernames begin with a @ then the name will be looked up
3520 in the groups file and will expand to a list of all users in the group
3521 of that name. Note that searching though a groups file can take quite
3522 some time, and some clients may time out during the search.
3524 See the section below on username/password validation for more information
3525 on how this parameter determines access to the services.
3528 The guest account if a guest service, else the name of the service.
3532 username = fred, mary, jack, jane, @users, @pcgroup
3534 .SS username level (G)
3536 This option helps Samba to try and 'guess' at the real UNIX username,
3537 as many DOS clients send an all-uppercase username. By default Samba
3538 tries all lowercase, followed by the username with the first letter
3539 capitalized, and fails if the username is not found on the UNIX machine.
3541 If this parameter is set to non-zero the behaviour changes. This
3542 parameter is a number that specifies the number of uppercase combinations
3543 to try whilst trying to determine the UNIX user name. The higher the number
3544 the more combinations will be tried, but the slower the discovery
3545 of usernames will be. Use this parameter when you have strange
3546 usernames on your UNIX machine, such as 'AstrangeUser'.
3554 .SS username map (G)
3556 This option allows you to to specify a file containing a mapping of
3557 usernames from the clients to the server. This can be used for several
3558 purposes. The most common is to map usernames that users use on DOS or
3559 Windows machines to those that the UNIX box uses. The other is to map
3560 multiple users to a single username so that they can more easily share
3563 The map file is parsed line by line. Each line should contain a single
3564 UNIX username on the left then a '=' followed by a list of usernames
3565 on the right. The list of usernames on the right may contain names of
3566 the form @group in which case they will match any UNIX username in
3567 that group. The special client name '*' is a wildcard and matches any
3570 The file is processed on each line by taking the supplied username and
3571 comparing it with each username on the right hand side of the '='
3572 signs. If the supplied name matches any of the names on the right
3573 hand side then it is replaced with the name on the left. Processing
3574 then continues with the next line.
3576 If any line begins with a '#' or a ';' then it is ignored
3578 If any line begins with an ! then the processing will stop after that
3579 line if a mapping was done by the line. Otherwise mapping continues
3580 with every line being processed. Using ! is most useful when you have
3581 a wildcard mapping line later in the file.
3583 For example to map from the name "admin" or "administrator" to the UNIX
3584 name "root" you would use
3586 root = admin administrator
3588 Or to map anyone in the UNIX group "system" to the UNIX name "sys" you
3593 You can have as many mappings as you like in a username map file.
3595 You can map Windows usernames that have spaces in them by using double
3596 quotes around the name. For example:
3598 tridge = "Andrew Tridgell"
3600 would map the windows username "Andrew Tridgell" to the unix username
3603 The following example would map mary and fred to the unix user sys,
3604 and map the rest to guest. Note the use of the ! to tell Samba to stop
3605 processing if it gets a match on that line.
3611 Note that the remapping is applied to all occurrences of
3612 usernames. Thus if you connect to "\e\eserver\efred" and "fred" is
3613 remapped to "mary" then you will actually be connecting to
3614 "\e\eserver\emary" and will need to supply a password suitable for
3615 "mary" not "fred". The only exception to this is the username passed
3616 to the "password server" (if you have one). The password server will
3617 receive whatever username the client supplies without modification.
3619 Also note that no reverse mapping is done. The main effect this has is
3620 with printing. Users who have been mapped may have trouble deleting
3621 print jobs as PrintManager under WfWg will think they don't own the
3628 username map = /usr/local/samba/lib/users.map
3632 The option allows you to specify additional characters that should be
3633 considered valid by the server in filenames. This is particularly
3634 useful for national character sets, such as adding u-umlaut or a-ring.
3636 The option takes a list of characters in either integer or character
3637 form with spaces between them. If you give two characters with a colon
3638 between them then it will be taken as an lowercase:uppercase pair.
3640 If you have an editor capable of entering the characters into the
3641 config file then it is probably easiest to use this method. Otherwise
3642 you can specify the characters in octal, decimal or hexadecimal form
3643 using the usual C notation.
3645 For example to add the single character 'Z' to the charset (which is a
3646 pointless thing to do as it's already there) you could do one of the
3651 valid chars = 0132:0172
3653 The last two examples above actually add two characters, and alter
3654 the uppercase and lowercase mappings appropriately.
3656 Note that you MUST specify this parameter after the "client code page"
3657 parameter if you have both set. If "client code page" is set after
3658 the "valid chars" parameter the "valid chars" settings will be
3661 See also the "client code page" parameter.
3665 Samba defaults to using a reasonable set of valid characters
3670 valid chars = 0345:0305 0366:0326 0344:0304
3672 The above example allows filenames to have the swedish characters in
3675 NOTE: It is actually quite difficult to correctly produce a "valid
3676 chars" line for a particular system. To automate the process
3677 tino@augsburg.net has written a package called "validchars" which will
3678 automatically produce a complete "valid chars" line for a given client
3679 system. Look in the examples subdirectory for this package.
3682 This is a list of users that should be allowed to login to this
3683 service. A name starting with @ is interpreted as a UNIX group.
3685 If this is empty (the default) then any user can login. If a username
3686 is in both this list and the "invalid users" list then access is
3687 denied for that user.
3689 The current servicename is substituted for %S. This is useful in the
3692 See also "invalid users"
3695 No valid users list. (anyone can login)
3698 valid users = greg, @pcusers
3702 This is a list of files and directories that are neither visible nor
3703 accessible. Each entry in the list must be separated by a "/", which
3704 allows spaces to be included in the entry. '*' and '?' can be used to
3705 specify multiple files or directories as in DOS wildcards.
3707 Each entry must be a unix path, not a DOS path and must not include the
3708 unix directory separator "/".
3710 Note that the case sensitivity option is applicable in vetoing files.
3712 One feature of the veto files parameter that it is important to be
3713 aware of, is that if a directory contains nothing but files that
3714 match the veto files parameter (which means that Windows/DOS clients
3715 cannot ever see them) is deleted, the veto files within that directory
3716 *are automatically deleted* along with it, if the user has UNIX permissions
3719 Setting this parameter will affect the performance of Samba, as
3720 it will be forced to check all files and directories for a match
3721 as they are scanned.
3723 See also "hide files" and "case sensitive"
3726 No files or directories are vetoed.
3730 Veto any files containing the word Security,
3731 any ending in .tmp, and any directory containing the
3734 veto files = /*Security*/*.tmp/*root*/
3737 Veto the Apple specific files that a NetAtalk server
3740 veto files = /.AppleDouble/.bin/.AppleDesktop/Network Trash Folder/
3742 .SS veto oplock files (S)
3743 This parameter is only valid when the 'oplocks' parameter is turned on
3744 for a share. It allows the Samba administrator to selectively turn off
3745 the granting of oplocks on selected files that match a wildcarded list,
3746 similar to the wildcarded list used in the 'veto files' parameter.
3749 No files are vetoed for oplock grants.
3752 You might want to do this on files that you know will be heavily
3753 contended for by clients. A good example of this is in the NetBench
3754 SMB benchmark program, which causes heavy client contention for files
3755 ending in .SEM. To cause Samba not to grant oplocks on these files
3756 you would use the line (either in the [global] section or in the section
3757 for the particular NetBench share :
3759 veto oplock files = /*.SEM/
3762 This allows you to override the volume label returned for a
3763 share. Useful for CDROMs with installation programs that insist on a
3764 particular volume label.
3766 The default is the name of the share
3769 This parameter controls whether or not links in the UNIX file system may be
3770 followed by the server. Links that point to areas within the directory tree
3771 exported by the server are always allowed; this parameter controls access
3772 only to areas that are outside the directory tree being exported.
3782 This is a boolean that controls if nmbd will respond to broadcast name
3783 queries on behalf of other hosts. You may need to set this to no for
3790 This specifies the DNS name (or IP address) of the WINS server that Samba
3791 should register with. If you have a WINS server on your network then you
3792 should set this to the WINS servers name.
3794 You should point this at your WINS server if you have a multi-subnetted
3799 .SS wins support (G)
3801 This boolean controls if the nmbd process in Samba will act as a WINS server.
3802 You should not set this to true unless you have a multi-subnetted network and
3803 you wish a particular nmbd to be your WINS server. Note that you
3804 should *NEVER* set this to true on more than one machine in your
3812 This controls what workgroup your server will appear to be in when
3822 A synonym for this parameter is 'write ok'. An inverted synonym is 'read only'.
3824 If this parameter is 'no', then users of a service may not create or modify
3825 files in the service's directory.
3827 Note that a printable service ('printable = yes') will ALWAYS allow
3828 writing to the directory (user privileges permitting), but only via
3829 spooling operations.
3839 This is a list of users that are given read-write access to a
3840 service. If the connecting user is in this list then they will be
3841 given write access, no matter what the "read only" option is set
3842 to. The list can include group names using the @group syntax.
3844 Note that if a user is in both the read list and the write list then
3845 they will be given write access.
3847 See also the "read list" option
3853 write list = admin, root, @staff
3861 This parameter controls whether or not the server will support raw writes when
3862 transferring data from clients.
3869 .SH NOTE ABOUT USERNAME/PASSWORD VALIDATION
3870 There are a number of ways in which a user can connect to a
3871 service. The server follows the following steps in determining if it
3872 will allow a connection to a specified service. If all the steps fail
3873 then the connection request is rejected. If one of the steps pass then
3874 the following steps are not checked.
3876 If the service is marked "guest only = yes" then steps 1 to 5 are skipped
3878 Step 1: If the client has passed a username/password pair and that
3879 username/password pair is validated by the UNIX system's password
3880 programs then the connection is made as that username. Note that this
3881 includes the \e\eserver\eservice%username method of passing a username.
3883 Step 2: If the client has previously registered a username with the
3884 system and now supplies a correct password for that username then the
3885 connection is allowed.
3887 Step 3: The client's netbios name and any previously used user names
3888 are checked against the supplied password, if they match then the
3889 connection is allowed as the corresponding user.
3891 Step 4: If the client has previously validated a username/password
3892 pair with the server and the client has passed the validation token
3893 then that username is used. This step is skipped if "revalidate = yes"
3896 Step 5: If a "user = " field is given in the smb.conf file for the
3897 service and the client has supplied a password, and that password
3898 matches (according to the UNIX system's password checking) with one of
3899 the usernames from the user= field then the connection is made as the
3900 username in the "user=" line. If one of the username in the user= list
3901 begins with a @ then that name expands to a list of names in the group
3904 Step 6: If the service is a guest service then a connection is made as
3905 the username given in the "guest account =" for the service,
3906 irrespective of the supplied password.
3908 Although the configuration file permits service names to contain spaces,
3909 your client software may not. Spaces will be ignored in comparisons anyway,
3910 so it shouldn't be a problem - but be aware of the possibility.
3912 On a similar note, many clients - especially DOS clients - limit service
3913 names to eight characters. Smbd has no such limitation, but attempts
3914 to connect from such clients will fail if they truncate the service names.
3915 For this reason you should probably keep your service names down to eight
3916 characters in length.
3918 Use of the [homes] and [printers] special sections make life for an
3919 administrator easy, but the various combinations of default attributes can be
3920 tricky. Take extreme care when designing these sections. In particular,
3921 ensure that the permissions on spool directories are correct.
3923 This man page is (mostly) correct for version 1.9.18 of the Samba suite, plus some
3924 of the recent patches to it. These notes will necessarily lag behind
3925 development of the software, so it is possible that your version of
3926 the server has extensions or parameter semantics that differ from or are not
3927 covered by this man page. Please notify these to the address below for
3930 Prior to version 1.5.21 of the Samba suite, the configuration file was
3931 radically different (more primitive). If you are using a version earlier than
3932 1.8.05, it is STRONGLY recommended that you upgrade.
3937 .SH ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
3946 .BR hosts_access (5)
3948 [This section under construction]
3950 Most diagnostics issued by the server are logged in a specified log file. The
3951 log file name is specified at compile time, but may be overridden on the
3952 smbd command line (see
3955 The number and nature of diagnostics available depends on the debug level used
3956 by the server. If you have problems, set the debug level to 3 and peruse the
3959 Most messages are reasonably self-explanatory. Unfortunately, at time of
3960 creation of this man page the source code is still too fluid to warrant
3961 describing each and every diagnostic. At this stage your best bet is still
3962 to grep the source code and inspect the conditions that gave rise to the
3963 diagnostics you are seeing.
3967 Please send bug reports, comments and so on to:
3970 .B samba-bugs@samba.anu.edu.au (Andrew Tridgell)
3973 or to the mailing list:
3976 .B samba@listproc.anu.edu.au
3979 You may also like to subscribe to the announcement channel:
3982 .B samba-announce@listproc.anu.edu.au
3985 To subscribe to these lists send a message to
3986 listproc@listproc.anu.edu.au with a body of "subscribe samba Your
3987 Name" or "subscribe samba-announce Your Name".
3989 Errors or suggestions for improvements to the Samba man pages should be
3993 .B samba-bugs@samba.anu.edu.au (Andrew Tridgell)