1 .TH SMB.CONF 5 smb.conf smb.conf
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 ("|").
215 Parameters define the specific attributes of services.
217 Some parameters are specific to the [global] section (eg., security).
218 Some parameters are usable in all sections (eg., create mode). All others are
219 permissible only in normal sections. For the purposes of the following
220 descriptions the [homes] and [printers] sections will be considered normal.
221 The letter 'G' in parentheses indicates that a parameter is specific to the
222 [global] section. The letter 'S' indicates that a parameter can be
223 specified in a service specific section. Note that all S parameters
224 can also be specified in the [global] section - in which case they
225 will define the default behaviour for all services.
227 Parameters are arranged here in alphabetical order - this may not create
228 best bedfellows, but at least you can find them! Where there are synonyms,
229 the preferred synonym is described, others refer to the preferred synonym.
231 .SS VARIABLE SUBSTITUTIONS
233 Many of the strings that are settable in the config file can take
234 substitutions. For example the option "path = /tmp/%u" would be
235 interpreted as "path = /tmp/john" if the user connected with the
238 These substitutions are mostly noted in the descriptions below, but
239 there are some general substitutions which apply whenever they might be
242 %S = the name of the current service, if any
244 %P = the root directory of the current service, if any
246 %u = user name of the current service, if any
248 %g = primary group name of %u
250 %U = session user name (the user name that the client wanted, not
251 necessarily the same as the one they got)
253 %G = primary group name of %U
255 %H = the home directory of the user given by %u
257 %v = the Samba version
259 %h = the hostname that Samba is running on
261 %m = the netbios name of the client machine (very useful)
263 %L = the netbios name of the server. This allows you to change your
264 config based on what the client calls you. Your server can have a "dual
267 %M = the internet name of the client machine
269 %d = The process id of the current server process
271 %a = the architecture of the remote machine. Only some are recognised,
272 and those may not be 100% reliable. It currently recognises Samba,
273 WfWg, WinNT and Win95. Anything else will be known as "UNKNOWN". If it
274 gets it wrong then sending me a level 3 log should allow me to fix it.
276 %I = The IP address of the client machine
278 %T = the current date and time
280 There are some quite creative things that can be done with these
281 substitutions and other smb.conf options.
285 Samba supports "name mangling" so that DOS and Windows clients can use
286 files that don't conform to the 8.3 format. It can also be set to adjust
287 the case of 8.3 format filenames.
289 There are several options that control the way mangling is performed,
290 and they are grouped here rather than listed separately. For the
291 defaults look at the output of the testparm program.
293 All of these options can be set separately for each service (or
294 globally, of course).
298 "mangle case = yes/no" controls if names that have characters that
299 aren't of the "default" case are mangled. For example, if this is yes
300 then a name like "Mail" would be mangled. Default no.
302 "case sensitive = yes/no" controls whether filenames are case
303 sensitive. If they aren't then Samba must do a filename search and
304 match on passed names. Default no.
306 "default case = upper/lower" controls what the default case is for new
307 filenames. Default lower.
309 "preserve case = yes/no" controls if new files are created with the
310 case that the client passes, or if they are forced to be the "default"
313 "short preserve case = yes/no" controls if new files which conform to 8.3
314 syntax, that is all in upper case and of suitable length, are created
315 upper case, or if they are forced to be the "default" case. This option can
316 be use with "preserve case = yes" to permit long filenames to retain their
317 case, while short names are lowered. Default no.
319 .SS COMPLETE LIST OF GLOBAL PARAMETERS
321 Here is a list of all global parameters. See the section of each
322 parameter for details. Note that some are synonyms.
494 .SS COMPLETE LIST OF SERVICE PARAMETERS
496 Here is a list of all service parameters. See the section of each
497 parameter for details. Note that some are synonyms.
503 alternate permissions
663 .SS EXPLANATION OF EACH PARAMETER
668 This is a list of users who will be granted administrative privileges
669 on the share. This means that they will do all file operations as the
672 You should use this option very carefully, as any user in this list
673 will be able to do anything they like on the share, irrespective of
684 This specifies what type of server nmbd will announce itself as in
685 browse lists. By default this is set to Windows NT. The valid options
686 are "NT", "Win95" or "WfW" meaining Windows NT, Windows 95 and
687 Windows for Workgroups respectively. Do not change this parameter
688 unless you have a specific need to stop Samba appearing as an NT
689 server as this may prevent Samba servers from participating as
690 browser servers correctly.
698 .SS announce version (G)
700 This specifies the major and minor version numbers that nmbd
701 will use when announcing itself as a server. The default is 4.2.
702 Do not change this parameter unless you have a specific need to
703 set a Samba server to be a downlevel server.
706 announce version = 4.2
709 announce version = 2.0
711 .SS auto services (G)
712 This is a list of services that you want to be automatically added to
713 the browse lists. This is most useful for homes and printers services
714 that would otherwise not be visible.
716 Note that if you just want all printers in your printcap file loaded
717 then the "load printers" option is easier.
723 auto services = fred lp colorlp
726 A synonym for this parameter is 'hosts allow'.
728 This parameter is a comma delimited set of hosts which are permitted to access
731 If specified in the [global] section then it will apply to all
732 services, regardless of whether the individual service has a different
735 You can specify the hosts by name or IP number. For example, you could
736 restrict access to only the hosts on a Class C subnet with something like
737 "allow hosts = 150.203.5.". The full syntax of the list is described in
739 .BR hosts_access (5).
741 You can also specify hosts by network/netmask pairs and by netgroup
742 names if your system supports netgroups. The EXCEPT keyword can also
743 be used to limit a wildcard list. The following examples may provide
746 Example 1: allow all IPs in 150.203.*.* except one
748 hosts allow = 150.203. EXCEPT 150.203.6.66
750 Example 2: allow hosts that match the given network/netmask
752 hosts allow = 150.203.15.0/255.255.255.0
754 Example 3: allow a couple of hosts
756 hosts allow = lapland, arvidsjaur
758 Example 4: allow only hosts in netgroup "foonet" or localhost, but
759 deny access from one particular host
761 hosts allow = @foonet, localhost
764 Note that access still requires suitable user-level passwords.
768 for a way of testing your host access to see if it
769 does what you expect.
772 none (i.e., all hosts permitted access)
775 allow hosts = 150.203.5. myhost.mynet.edu.au
777 .SS alternate permissions (S)
779 This option affects the way the "read only" DOS attribute is produced
780 for UNIX files. If this is false then the read only bit is set for
781 files on writeable shares which the user cannot write to.
783 If this is true then it is set for files whos user write bit is not set.
785 The latter behaviour is useful for when users copy files from each
786 others directories, and use a file manager that preserves
787 permissions. Without this option they may get annoyed as all copied
788 files will have the "read only" bit set.
791 alternate permissions = no
794 alternate permissions = yes
797 This parameter lets you 'turn off' a service. If 'available = no', then
798 ALL attempts to connect to the service will fail. Such failures are logged.
806 This controls whether this share is seen in the list of available
807 shares in a net view and in the browse list.
815 This controls whether the smbd will serve a browse list to a client
816 doing a NetServerEnum call. Normally set to true. You should never
822 .SS case sensitive (G)
823 See the discussion on NAME MANGLING.
825 .SS case sig names (G)
828 .SS character set (G)
829 This allows a smbd to map incoming characters from a DOS 850 Code page
830 to either a Western European (ISO8859-1) or Easter European (ISO8859-2)
831 code page. Normally not set, meaning no filename translation is done.
839 character set = iso8859-1
841 .SS client code page (G)
842 Currently (Samba 1.9.17 and above) this may be set to one of two
843 values, 850 or 437. It specifies the base DOS code page that the
844 clients accessing Samba are using. To determine this, open a DOS
845 command prompt and type the command "chcp". This will output the
846 code page. The default for USA MS-DOS, Windows 95, and Windows NT
847 releases is code page 437. The default for western european
848 releases of the above operating systems is code page 850.
850 This parameter co-operates with the "valid chars" parameter in
851 determining what characters are valid in filenames and how
852 capitalization is done. It has been added as a convenience for
853 clients whose code page is either 437 or 850 so a convoluted
854 "valid chars" string does not have to be determined. If you
855 set both this parameter and the "valid chars" parameter the
856 "client code page" parameter MUST be set before the "valid chars"
857 in the smb.conf file. The "valid chars" string will then augment
858 the character settings in the "client code page" parameter.
860 If "client code page" is set to a value other than 850 or 437
861 it will default to 850.
863 See also : "valid chars".
867 client code page = 850
871 client code page = 437
874 This is a text field that is seen when a client does a net view to
875 list what shares are available. It will also be used when browsing is
882 comment = Fred's Files
886 This allows you to override the config file to use, instead of the
887 default (usually smb.conf). There is a chicken and egg problem here as
888 this option is set in the config file!
890 For this reason, if the name of the config file has changed when the
891 parameters are loaded then it will reload them from the new config
894 This option takes the usual substitutions, which can be very useful.
896 If the config file doesn't exist then it won't be loaded (allowing
897 you to special case the config files of just a few clients).
900 config file = /usr/local/samba/lib/smb.conf.%m
903 This parameter allows you to 'clone' service entries. The specified
904 service is simply duplicated under the current service's name. Any
905 parameters specified in the current section will override those in the
906 section being copied.
908 This feature lets you set up a 'template' service and create similar
909 services easily. Note that the service being copied must occur earlier
910 in the configuration file than the service doing the copying.
918 A synonym for this parameter is 'create mode'.
920 When a file is created, the neccessary permissions are calculated
921 according to the mapping from DOS modes to UNIX permissions, and
922 the resulting UNIX mode is then bit-wise 'AND'ed with this parameter.
923 This parameter may be thought of as a bit-wise MASK for the UNIX
924 modes of a file. Any bit *not* set here will be removed from the
925 modes set on a file when it is created.
927 The default value of this parameter removes the 'group' and 'other'
928 write and execute bits from the UNIX modes.
930 Following this Samba will bit-wise 'OR' the UNIX mode created from
931 this parameter with the value of the "force create mode" parameter
932 which is set to 000 by default.
934 For Samba 1.9.17 and above this parameter no longer affects directory
935 modes. See the parameter 'directory mode' for details.
937 See also the "force create mode" parameter for forcing particular
938 mode bits to be set on created files.
939 See also the "directory mode" parameter for masking mode bits on created
952 The value of the parameter (a decimal integer) represents the number of
953 minutes of inactivity before a connection is considered dead, and it
954 is disconnected. The deadtime only takes effect if the number of open files
957 This is useful to stop a server's resources being exhausted by a large
958 number of inactive connections.
960 Most clients have an auto-reconnect feature when a connection is broken so
961 in most cases this parameter should be transparent to users.
963 Using this parameter with a timeout of a few minutes is recommended
966 A deadtime of zero indicates that no auto-disconnection should be performed.
974 The value of the parameter (an integer) allows the debug level
975 (logging level) to be specified in the
977 file. This is to give
978 greater flexibility in the configuration of the system.
980 The default will be the debug level specified on the command line.
989 See the section on "NAME MANGLING" Also note the addition of "short
992 .SS default service (G)
993 A synonym for this parameter is 'default'.
995 This parameter specifies the name of a service which will be connected to
996 if the service actually requested cannot be found. Note that the square
997 brackets are NOT given in the parameter value (see example below).
999 There is no default value for this parameter. If this parameter is not given,
1000 attempting to connect to a nonexistent service results in an error.
1002 Typically the default service would be a public, read-only service.
1004 Also note that as of 1.9.14 the apparent service name will be changed to
1005 equal that of the requested service, this is very useful as it allows
1006 you to use macros like %S to make a wildcard service.
1008 Note also that any _ characters in the name of the service used in the
1009 default service will get mapped to a /. This allows for interesting
1014 default service = pub
1020 .SS delete readonly (S)
1021 This parameter allows readonly files to be deleted. This is not normal DOS
1022 semantics, but is allowed by UNIX.
1024 This option may be useful for running applications such as rcs, where UNIX
1025 file ownership prevents changing file permissions, and DOS semantics prevent
1026 deletion of a read only file.
1029 delete readonly = No
1032 delete readonly = Yes
1034 A synonym for this parameter is 'hosts deny'.
1036 The opposite of 'allow hosts' - hosts listed here are NOT permitted
1037 access to services unless the specific services have their own lists to
1038 override this one. Where the lists conflict, the 'allow' list takes precedence.
1041 none (i.e., no hosts specifically excluded)
1044 deny hosts = 150.203.4. badhost.mynet.edu.au
1046 .SS delete veto files (S)
1048 This option is used when Samba is attempting to delete a directory
1049 that contains one or more vetoed directories (see the 'veto files' option).
1050 If this option is set to False (the default) then if a vetoed directory
1051 contains any non-vetoed files or directories then the directory delete
1052 will fail. This is usually what you want.
1054 If this option is set to True, then Samba will attempt
1055 to recursively delete any files and directories within the vetoed
1056 directory. This can be useful for integration with file serving
1057 systems such as Netatalk, which create meta-files within directories
1058 you might normally veto DOS/Windows users from seeing (eg. .AppleDouble)
1060 Setting 'delete veto files = True' allows these directories to be
1061 transparently deleted when the parent directory is deleted (so long
1062 as the user has permissions to do so).
1065 delete veto files = False
1068 delete veto files = True
1073 .SS dfree command (G)
1074 The dfree command setting should only be used on systems where a
1075 problem occurs with the internal disk space calculations. This has
1076 been known to happen with Ultrix, but may occur with other operating
1077 systems. The symptom that was seen was an error of "Abort Retry
1078 Ignore" at the end of each directory listing.
1080 This setting allows the replacement of the internal routines to
1081 calculate the total disk space and amount available with an external
1082 routine. The example below gives a possible script that might fulfill
1085 The external program will be passed a single parameter indicating a
1086 directory in the filesystem being queried. This will typically consist
1087 of the string "./". The script should return two integers in ascii. The
1088 first should be the total disk space in blocks, and the second should
1089 be the number of available blocks. An optional third return value
1090 can give the block size in bytes. The default blocksize is 1024 bytes.
1092 Note: Your script should NOT be setuid or setgid and should be owned by
1093 (and writable only by) root!
1096 By default internal routines for determining the disk capacity
1097 and remaining space will be used.
1100 dfree command = /usr/local/samba/bin/dfree
1102 Where the script dfree (which must be made executable) could be
1106 df $1 | tail -1 | awk '{print $2" "$4}'
1109 or perhaps (on Sys V)
1113 /usr/bin/df -k $1 | tail -1 | awk '{print $3" "$5}'
1116 Note that you may have to replace the command names with full
1117 path names on some systems.
1122 .SS directory mask (S)
1123 A synonym for this parameter is 'directory mode'.
1125 This parameter is the octal modes which are used when converting DOS modes
1126 to UNIX modes when creating UNIX directories.
1128 When a directory is created, the neccessary permissions are calculated
1129 according to the mapping from DOS modes to UNIX permissions, and
1130 the resulting UNIX mode is then bit-wise 'AND'ed with this parameter.
1131 This parameter may be thought of as a bit-wise MASK for the UNIX
1132 modes of a directory. Any bit *not* set here will be removed from the
1133 modes set on a directory when it is created.
1135 The default value of this parameter removes the 'group' and 'other'
1136 write bits from the UNIX mode, allowing only the user who owns the
1137 directory to modify it.
1139 Following this Samba will bit-wise 'OR' the UNIX mode created from
1140 this parameter with the value of the "force directory mode" parameter.
1141 This parameter is set to 000 by default (ie. no extra mode bits are added).
1143 See the "force directory mode" parameter to cause particular mode
1144 bits to always be set on created directories.
1146 See also the "create mode" parameter for masking mode bits on created
1150 directory mask = 0755
1153 directory mask = 0775
1154 .SS directory mode (S)
1160 Specifies that nmbd should (as a WINS server), on finding that a NetBIOS
1161 name has not been registered, treat the NetBIOS name word-for-word as
1164 Note that the maximum length for a NetBIOS name is 15
1165 characters, so the DNS name (or DNS alias) can likewise only be 15
1166 characters, maximum.
1168 Note also that nmbd will block completely until the DNS name is resolved.
1169 This will result in temporary loss of browsing and WINS services.
1170 Enable this option only if you are certain that DNS resolution is fast,
1171 or you can live with the consequences of periodic pauses in nmbd service.
1176 .SS domain controller (G)
1178 Specifies the DNS name or IP address of the machine to refer domain
1179 logons from Win95 machines to. You should never need to set this parameter.
1182 domain controller = no
1184 .SS domain logons (G)
1186 If set to true, the Samba server will serve Windows 95 domain logons
1187 for the workgroup it is in. For more details on setting up this feature
1188 see the file DOMAINS.txt in the Samba source documentation directory.
1193 .SS domain master (G)
1195 Enable WAN-wide browse list collation. Local master browsers on
1196 broadcast-isolated subnets will give samba their local browse lists, and
1197 ask for a complete copy of the browse list for the whole wide area network.
1198 Browser clients will then contact their local master browser, and will
1199 receive the domain-wide browse list, instead of just the list for their
1200 broadcast-isolated subnet.
1205 .SS dont descend (S)
1206 There are certain directories on some systems (eg., the /proc tree under
1207 Linux) that are either not of interest to clients or are infinitely deep
1208 (recursive). This parameter allows you to specify a comma-delimited list
1209 of directories that the server should always show as empty.
1211 Note that Samba can be very fussy about the exact format of the "dont
1212 descend" entries. For example you may need "./proc" instead of just
1213 "/proc". Experimentation is the best policy :-)
1216 none (i.e., all directories are OK to descend)
1219 dont descend = /proc,/dev
1221 .SS encrypt passwords (G)
1223 This boolean controls whether encrypted passwords will be negotiated
1224 with the client. Note that this option has no effect if you haven't
1225 compiled in the necessary des libraries and encryption code. It
1230 This is an alias for preexec
1232 .SS fake oplocks (S)
1234 Oplocks are the way that SMB clients get permission from a server to
1235 locally cache file operations. If a server grants an oplock
1236 (opportunistic lock) then the client is free to assume that it is the
1237 only one accessing the file and it will aggressively cache file
1238 data. With some oplock types the client may even cache file open/close
1239 operations. This can give enormous performance benefits.
1241 Samba does not support opportunistic locks because they are very
1242 difficult to do under Unix. Samba can fake them, however, by granting
1243 a oplock whenever a client asks for one. This is controlled using the
1244 smb.conf option "fake oplocks". If you set "fake oplocks = yes" then
1245 you are telling the client that it may aggressively cache the file
1248 By enabling this option on all read-only shares or shares that you know
1249 will only be accessed from one client at a time you will see a big
1250 performance improvement on many operations. If you enable this option
1251 on shares where multiple clients may be accessing the files read-write
1252 at the same time you can get data corruption. Use this option
1255 This option is disabled by default.
1257 .SS follow symlinks (S)
1259 This parameter allows the Samba administrator to stop smbd from
1260 following symbolic links in a particular share. Setting this
1261 parameter to "No" prevents any file or directory that is a
1262 symbolic link from being followed (the user will get an error).
1263 This option is very useful to stop users from adding a symbolic
1264 link to /etc/pasword in their home directory for instance.
1265 However it will slow filename lookups down slightly.
1267 This option is enabled (ie. smbd will follow symbolic links)
1270 .SS force create mode (S)
1271 This parameter specifies a set of UNIX mode bit permissions that
1272 will *always* be set on a file created by Samba. This is done
1273 by bitwise 'OR'ing these bits onto the mode bits of a file that
1274 is being created. The default for this parameter is (in octel)
1275 000. The modes in this parameter are bitwise 'OR'ed onto the
1276 file mode after the mask set in the "create mask" parameter
1279 See also the parameter "create mask" for details on masking mode
1280 bits on created files.
1283 force create mode = 000
1286 force create mode = 0755
1288 would force all created files to have read and execute permissions
1289 set for 'group' and 'other' as well as the read/write/execute bits
1292 .SS force directory mode (S)
1293 This parameter specifies a set of UNIX mode bit permissions that
1294 will *always* be set on a directory created by Samba. This is done
1295 by bitwise 'OR'ing these bits onto the mode bits of a directory that
1296 is being created. The default for this parameter is (in octel)
1297 0000 which will not add any extra permission bits to a created
1298 directory. This operation is done after the mode mask in the parameter
1299 "directory mask" is applied.
1301 See also the parameter "directory mask" for details on masking mode
1302 bits on created directories.
1305 force directory mode = 000
1308 force directory mode = 0755
1310 would force all created directories to have read and execute permissions
1311 set for 'group' and 'other' as well as the read/write/execute bits
1315 This specifies a group name that all connections to this service
1316 should be made as. This may be useful for sharing files.
1322 force group = agroup
1325 This specifies a user name that all connections to this service
1326 should be made as. This may be useful for sharing files. You should
1327 also use it carefully as using it incorrectly can cause security
1330 This user name only gets used once a connection is established. Thus
1331 clients still need to connect as a valid user and supply a valid
1332 password. Once connected, all file operations will be performed as the
1333 "forced user", not matter what username the client connected as.
1342 This is a tuning option. When this is enabled a cacheing algorithm will
1343 be used to reduce the time taken for getwd() calls. This can have a
1344 significant impact on performance, especially when widelinks is False.
1353 This is an alias for "force group" and is only kept for compatibility
1354 with old versions of Samba. It may be removed in future versions.
1356 .SS guest account (S)
1357 This is a username which will be used for access to services which are
1358 specified as 'guest ok' (see below). Whatever privileges this user has
1359 will be available to any client connecting to the guest
1360 service. Typically this user will exist in the password file, but will
1361 not have a valid login. If a username is specified in a given service,
1362 the specified username overrides this one.
1364 One some systems the account "nobody" may not be able to print. Use
1365 another account in this case. You should test this by trying to log in
1366 as your guest user (perhaps by using the "su \-" command) and trying to
1370 Note that as of version 1.9 of Samba this option may be set
1371 differently for each service.
1374 specified at compile time
1377 guest account = nobody
1382 If this parameter is 'yes' for a service, then only guest connections to the
1383 service are permitted. This parameter will have no affect if "guest ok" or
1384 "public" is not set for the service.
1386 See the section below on user/password validation for more information about
1394 .SS hide dot files (S)
1395 This is a boolean parameter that controls whether files starting with
1396 a dot appear as hidden files.
1399 hide dot files = yes
1406 This is a list of files or directories that are not visible but are
1407 accessible. The DOS 'hidden' attribute is applied to any files or
1408 directories that match.
1410 Each entry in the list must be separated by a "/", which allows spaces
1411 to be included in the entry. '*' and '?' can be used to specify multiple
1412 files or directories as in DOS wildcards.
1414 Each entry must be a unix path, not a DOS path and must not include the
1415 unix directory separator "/".
1417 Note that the case sensitivity option is applicable in hiding files.
1419 Setting this parameter will affect the performance of Samba, as
1420 it will be forced to check all files and directories for a match
1421 as they are scanned.
1423 See also "hide dot files", "veto files" and "case sensitive"
1426 No files or directories are hidden by this option (dot files are
1427 hidden by default because of the "hide dot files" option).
1430 hide files = /.*/DesktopFolderDB/TrashFor%m/resource.frk/
1432 The above example is based on files that the Macintosh client (DAVE)
1433 creates for internal use, and also still hides all files beginning with
1437 If "nis homedir" is true, this parameter specifies the NIS (or YP) map
1438 from which the server for the user's home directory should be extracted.
1439 At present, only the Sun auto.home map format is understood. The form of
1442 username server:/some/file/system
1444 and the program will extract the servername from before the first ':'.
1445 There should probably be a better parsing system that copes with different
1446 map formats and also Amd (another automounter) maps.
1448 NB: The -DNETGROUP option is required in the Makefile for option to work
1449 and on some architectures the line -lrpcsvc needs to be added to the
1450 LIBSM variable. This is required for Solaris 2, FreeBSD and HPUX.
1452 See also "nis homedir"
1455 homedir map = auto.home
1458 homedir map = amd.homedir
1467 If this global parameter is a non-null string, it specifies the name of
1468 a file to read for the names of hosts and users who will be allowed access
1469 without specifying a password.
1471 This is not be confused with
1473 which is about hosts access to services and is more useful for guest services.
1475 may be useful for NT clients which will not supply passwords to samba.
1477 NOTE: The use of hosts.equiv can be a major security hole. This is
1478 because you are trusting the PC to supply the correct username. It is
1479 very easy to get a PC to supply a false username. I recommend that the
1480 hosts.equiv option be only used if you really know what you are doing,
1481 or perhaps on a home network where you trust your wife and kids :-)
1484 No host equivalences
1487 hosts equiv = /etc/hosts.equiv
1491 This allows you to include one config file inside another. The file is
1492 included literally, as though typed in place.
1494 It takes the standard substitutions, except %u, %P and %S
1498 This option allows you to setup multiple network interfaces, so that
1499 Samba can properly handle browsing on all interfaces.
1501 The option takes a list of ip/netmask pairs. The netmask may either be
1502 a bitmask, or a bitlength.
1504 For example, the following line:
1506 interfaces = 192.168.2.10/24 192.168.3.10/24
1508 would configure two network interfaces with IP addresses 192.168.2.10
1509 and 192.168.3.10. The netmasks of both interfaces would be set to
1512 You could produce an equivalent result by using:
1514 interfaces = 192.168.2.10/255.255.255.0 192.168.3.10/255.255.255.0
1516 if you prefer that format.
1518 If this option is not set then Samba will attempt to find a primary
1519 interface, but won't attempt to configure more than one interface.
1521 .SS invalid users (S)
1522 This is a list of users that should not be allowed to login to this
1523 service. This is really a "paranoid" check to absolutely ensure an
1524 improper setting does not breach your security.
1526 A name starting with @ is interpreted as a UNIX group.
1528 The current servicename is substituted for %S. This is useful in the
1531 See also "valid users"
1537 invalid users = root fred admin @wheel
1540 The value of the parameter (an integer) represents the number of seconds
1541 between 'keepalive' packets. If this parameter is zero, no keepalive packets
1542 will be sent. Keepalive packets, if sent, allow the server to tell whether a
1543 client is still present and responding.
1545 Keepalives should, in general, not be needed if the socket being used
1546 has the SO_KEEPALIVE attribute set on it (see "socket
1547 options"). Basically you should only use this option if you strike
1555 .SS load printers (G)
1556 A boolean variable that controls whether all printers in the printcap
1557 will be loaded for browsing by default.
1565 .SS local master (G)
1566 This option allows the nmbd to become a local master browser on a
1567 subnet. If set to False then nmbd will not attempt to become a local
1568 master browser on a subnet and will also lose in all browsing elections.
1569 By default this value is set to true. Setting this value to true doesn't
1570 mean that Samba will become the local master browser on a subnet, just
1571 that the nmbd will participate in elections for local master browser.
1576 .SS lock directory (G)
1577 This option specifies the directory where lock files will be placed.
1578 The lock files are used to implement the "max connections" option.
1581 lock directory = /tmp/samba
1584 lock directory = /usr/local/samba/var/locks
1586 This controls whether or not locking will be performed by the server in
1587 response to lock requests from the client.
1589 If "locking = no", all lock and unlock requests will appear to succeed and
1590 all lock queries will indicate that the queried lock is clear.
1592 If "locking = yes", real locking will be performed by the server.
1594 This option may be particularly useful for read-only filesystems which
1595 do not need locking (such as cdrom drives).
1597 Be careful about disabling locking either globally or in a specific
1598 service, as lack of locking may result in data corruption.
1608 This options allows you to override the name of the Samba log file
1609 (also known as the debug file).
1611 This option takes the standard substitutions, allowing you to have
1612 separate log files for each user or machine.
1615 log file = /usr/local/samba/var/log.%m
1622 This parameter specifies the home directory where roaming profiles
1623 (USER.DAT / USER.MAN files for Windows 95) are stored.
1625 This option takes the standard substitutions, allowing you to have
1626 separate logon scripts for each user or machine. It also specifies
1627 the directory from which the "desktop", "start menu", "nethood" and
1628 "programs" folders, and their contents, are loaded and displayed
1629 on your Windows 95 client.
1631 The share and the path must be readable by the user for the preferences
1632 and directories to be loaded onto the Windows 95 client. The share
1633 must be writeable when the logs in for the first time, in order that
1634 the Windows 95 client can create the user.dat and other directories.
1636 Thereafter, the directories and any of contents can, if required,
1637 be made read-only. It is not adviseable that the USER.DAT file be made
1638 read-only - rename it to USER.MAN to achieve the desired effect
1639 (a MANdatory profile).
1641 Windows clients can sometimes maintain a connection to the [homes]
1642 share, even though there is no user logged in. Therefore, it is
1643 vital that the logon path does not include a reference to the
1644 homes share (i.e \\\\%L\\HOMES\profile_path will cause problems).
1647 logon path = \\\\%L\\%U\\profile
1650 logon path = \\\\PROFILESERVER\\HOME_DIR\\%U\\PROFILE
1652 .SS logon script (G)
1654 This parameter specifies the batch file (.bat) or NT command file (.cmd)
1655 to be downloaded and run on a machine when a user successfully logs in.
1656 The file must contain the DOS style cr/lf line endings. Using a DOS-style
1657 editor to create the file is recommended.
1659 The script must be a relative path to the [netlogon] service. If the
1660 [netlogon] service specifies a path of /usr/local/samba/netlogon, and
1661 logon script = STARTUP.BAT, then file that will be downloaded is:
1663 .B /usr/local/samba/netlogon/STARTUP.BAT
1665 The contents of the batch file is entirely your choice. A suggested
1666 command would be to add NET TIME \\\\SERVER /SET /YES, to force every
1667 machine to synchronise clocks with the same time server. Another use
1668 would be to add NET USE U: \\\\SERVER\\UTILS for commonly used utilities,
1669 or NET USE Q: \\\\SERVER\\ISO9001_QA.
1671 Note that it is particularly important not to allow write access to
1672 the [netlogon] share, or to grant users write permission on the
1673 batch files in a secure environment, as this would allow the batch
1674 files to be arbitrarily modified.
1677 This option takes the standard substitutions, allowing you to have
1678 separate logon scripts for each user or machine.
1681 logon script = scripts/%U.bat
1683 .SS lppause command (S)
1684 This parameter specifies the command to be executed on the server host in
1685 order to stop printing or spooling a specific print job.
1687 This command should be a program or script which takes a printer name and
1688 job number to pause the print job. Currently I don't know of any print
1689 spooler system that can do this with a simple option, except for the PPR
1690 system from Trinity College (ppr\-dist.trincoll.edu/pub/ppr). One way
1691 of implementing this is by using job priorities, where jobs having a too
1692 low priority won't be sent to the printer. See also the
1696 If a %p is given then the printername is put in its place. A %j is
1697 replaced with the job number (an integer).
1698 On HPUX (see printing=hpux), if the -p%p option is added to the lpq
1699 command, the job will show up with the correct status, i.e. if the job
1700 priority is lower than the set fence priority it will have the PAUSED
1701 status, whereas if the priority is equal or higher it will have the
1702 SPOOLED or PRINTING status.
1704 Note that it is good practice to include the absolute path in the lppause
1705 command as the PATH may not be available to the server.
1708 Currently no default value is given to this string
1710 .B Example for HPUX:
1711 lppause command = /usr/bin/lpalt %p-%j -p0
1713 .SS lpq cache time (G)
1715 This controls how long lpq info will be cached for to prevent the lpq
1716 command being called too often. A separate cache is kept for each
1717 variation of the lpq command used by the system, so if you use
1718 different lpq commands for different users then they won't share cache
1721 The cache files are stored in /tmp/lpq.xxxx where xxxx is a hash
1722 of the lpq command in use.
1724 The default is 10 seconds, meaning that the cached results of a
1725 previous identical lpq command will be used if the cached data is less
1726 than 10 seconds old. A large value may be advisable if your lpq
1727 command is very slow.
1729 A value of 0 will disable cacheing completely.
1738 This parameter specifies the command to be executed on the server host in
1739 order to obtain "lpq"-style printer status information.
1741 This command should be a program or script which takes a printer name
1742 as its only parameter and outputs printer status information.
1744 Currently six styles of printer status information are supported; BSD,
1745 SYSV, AIX, HPUX, QNX, LPRNG and PLP. This covers most UNIX systems. You
1746 control which type is expected using the "printing =" option.
1748 Some clients (notably Windows for Workgroups) may not correctly send the
1749 connection number for the printer they are requesting status information
1750 about. To get around this, the server reports on the first printer service
1751 connected to by the client. This only happens if the connection number sent
1754 If a %p is given then the printername is put in its place. Otherwise
1755 it is placed at the end of the command.
1757 Note that it is good practice to include the absolute path in the lpq
1758 command as the PATH may not be available to the server.
1761 depends on the setting of "printing ="
1764 lpq command = /usr/bin/lpq %p
1766 .SS lpresume command (S)
1767 This parameter specifies the command to be executed on the server host in
1768 order to restart or continue printing or spooling a specific print job.
1770 This command should be a program or script which takes a printer name and
1771 job number to resume the print job. See also the lppause command.
1773 If a %p is given then the printername is put in its place. A %j is
1774 replaced with the job number (an integer).
1776 Note that it is good practice to include the absolute path in the lpresume
1777 command as the PATH may not be available to the server.
1780 Currently no default value is given to this string
1782 .B Example for HPUX:
1783 lpresume command = /usr/bin/lpalt %p-%j -p2
1785 .SS lprm command (S)
1786 This parameter specifies the command to be executed on the server host in
1787 order to delete a print job.
1789 This command should be a program or script which takes a printer name
1790 and job number, and deletes the print job.
1792 Currently seven styles of printer control are supported; BSD, SYSV, AIX
1793 HPUX, QNX, LPRNG and PLP. This covers most UNIX systems. You control
1794 which type is expected using the "printing =" option.
1796 If a %p is given then the printername is put in its place. A %j is
1797 replaced with the job number (an integer).
1799 Note that it is good practice to include the absolute path in the lprm
1800 command as the PATH may not be available to the server.
1803 depends on the setting of "printing ="
1806 lprm command = /usr/bin/lprm -P%p %j
1809 lprm command = /usr/bin/cancel %p-%j
1811 .SS magic output (S)
1812 This parameter specifies the name of a file which will contain output
1813 created by a magic script (see
1817 Warning: If two clients use the same magic script in the same directory the
1818 output file content is undefined.
1820 magic output = <magic script name>.out
1823 magic output = myfile.txt
1824 .SS magic script (S)
1825 This parameter specifies the name of a file which, if opened, will be
1826 executed by the server when the file is closed. This allows a UNIX script
1827 to be sent to the Samba host and executed on behalf of the connected user.
1829 Scripts executed in this way will be deleted upon completion, permissions
1832 If the script generates output, output will be sent to the file specified by
1835 parameter (see above).
1837 Note that some shells are unable to interpret scripts containing
1838 carriage-return-linefeed instead of linefeed as the end-of-line
1839 marker. Magic scripts must be executable "as is" on the host, which
1840 for some hosts and some shells will require filtering at the DOS end.
1842 Magic scripts are EXPERIMENTAL and should NOT be relied upon.
1845 None. Magic scripts disabled.
1848 magic script = user.csh
1852 See the section on "NAME MANGLING"
1855 This is for those who want to directly map UNIX file names which are
1856 not representable on DOS. The mangling of names is not always what is
1857 needed. In particular you may have documents with file extensions
1858 that differ between DOS and UNIX. For example, under UNIX it is common
1859 to use .html for HTML files, whereas under DOS .htm is more commonly
1862 So to map 'html' to 'htm' you put:
1864 mangled map = (*.html *.htm)
1866 One very useful case is to remove the annoying ;1 off the ends of
1867 filenames on some CDROMS (only visible under some UNIXes). To do this
1868 use a map of (*;1 *)
1874 mangled map = (*;1 *)
1876 .SS mangled names (S)
1877 This controls whether non-DOS names under UNIX should be mapped to
1878 DOS-compatible names ("mangled") and made visible, or whether non-DOS names
1879 should simply be ignored.
1881 See the section on "NAME MANGLING" for details on how to control the
1884 If mangling is used then the mangling algorithm is as follows:
1886 - the first (up to) five alphanumeric characters before the rightmost dot of
1887 the filename are preserved, forced to upper case, and appear as the first (up
1888 to) five characters of the mangled name.
1890 - a tilde ("~") is appended to the first part of the mangled name, followed
1891 by a two-character unique sequence, based on the original root name
1892 (i.e., the original filename minus its final extension). The final
1893 extension is included in the hash calculation only if it contains any upper
1894 case characters or is longer than three characters.
1896 Note that the character to use may be specified using the "mangling
1897 char" option, if you don't like ~.
1899 - the first three alphanumeric characters of the final extension are preserved,
1900 forced to upper case and appear as the extension of the mangled name. The
1901 final extension is defined as that part of the original filename after the
1902 rightmost dot. If there are no dots in the filename, the mangled name will
1903 have no extension (except in the case of hidden files - see below).
1905 - files whose UNIX name begins with a dot will be presented as DOS hidden
1906 files. The mangled name will be created as for other filenames, but with the
1907 leading dot removed and "___" as its extension regardless of actual original
1908 extension (that's three underscores).
1911 The two-digit hash value consists of upper case alphanumeric characters.
1913 This algorithm can cause name collisions only if files in a directory share
1914 the same first five alphanumeric characters. The probability of such a clash
1917 The name mangling (if enabled) allows a file to be copied between UNIX
1918 directories from DOS while retaining the long UNIX filename. UNIX files can
1919 be renamed to a new extension from DOS and will retain the same basename.
1920 Mangled names do not change between sessions.
1927 .SS mangling char (S)
1928 This controls what character is used as the "magic" character in name
1929 mangling. The default is a ~ but this may interfere with some
1930 software. Use this option to set it to whatever you prefer.
1938 .SS mangled stack (G)
1939 This parameter controls the number of mangled names that should be cached in
1942 This stack is a list of recently mangled base names (extensions are only
1943 maintained if they are longer than 3 characters or contains upper case
1946 The larger this value, the more likely it is that mangled names can be
1947 successfully converted to correct long UNIX names. However, large stack
1948 sizes will slow most directory access. Smaller stacks save memory in the
1949 server (each stack element costs 256 bytes).
1951 It is not possible to absolutely guarantee correct long file names, so
1952 be prepared for some surprises!
1961 This controls whether the DOS archive attribute should be mapped to the
1962 UNIX owner execute bit. The DOS archive bit is set when a file has been modified
1963 since its last backup. One motivation for this option it to keep Samba/your
1964 PC from making any file it touches from becoming executable under UNIX.
1965 This can be quite annoying for shared source code, documents, etc...
1967 Note that this requires the 'create mask' to be set such that owner
1968 execute bit is not masked out (ie. it must include 100). See the
1969 parameter "create mask" for details.
1978 This controls whether DOS style hidden files should be mapped to the
1979 UNIX world execute bit.
1981 Note that this requires the 'create mask' to be set such that the world
1982 execute bit is not masked out (ie. it must include 001).
1983 See the parameter "create mask" for details.
1991 This controls whether DOS style system files should be mapped to the
1992 UNIX group execute bit.
1994 Note that this requires the 'create mask' to be set such that the group
1995 execute bit is not masked out (ie. it must include 010). See the parameter
1996 "create mask" for details.
2003 .SS max connections (S)
2004 This option allows the number of simultaneous connections to a
2005 service to be limited. If "max connections" is greater than 0 then
2006 connections will be refused if this number of connections to the
2007 service are already open. A value of zero mean an unlimited number of
2008 connections may be made.
2010 Record lock files are used to implement this feature. The lock files
2011 will be stored in the directory specified by the "lock directory" option.
2017 max connections = 10
2019 .SS max disk size (G)
2020 This option allows you to put an upper limit on the apparent size of
2021 disks. If you set this option to 100 then all shares will appear to be
2022 not larger than 100 MB in size.
2024 Note that this option does not limit the amount of data you can put on
2025 the disk. In the above case you could still store much more than 100
2026 MB on the disk, but if a client ever asks for the amount of free disk
2027 space or the total disk size then the result will be bounded by the
2028 amount specified in "max disk size".
2030 This option is primarily useful to work around bugs in some pieces of
2031 software that can't handle very large disks, particularly disks over
2034 A "max disk size" of 0 means no limit.
2040 max disk size = 1000
2042 .SS max log size (G)
2044 This option (an integer in kilobytes) specifies the max size the log
2045 file should grow to. Samba periodically checks the size and if it is
2046 exceeded it will rename the file, adding a .old extension.
2048 A size of 0 means no limit.
2058 This option controls the maximum number of outstanding simultaneous SMB
2059 operations that samba tells the client it will allow. You should never need
2060 to set this parameter.
2067 A synonym for this parameter is 'packet size'.
2071 This option tells nmbd what the default 'time to live' of NetBIOS
2072 names should be (in seconds). You should never need to change this parameter.
2078 This option controls the maximum packet size that will be negotiated
2079 by Samba. The default is 65535, which is the maximum. In some cases
2080 you may find you get better performance with a smaller value. A value
2081 below 2048 is likely to cause problems.
2089 .SS message command (G)
2091 This specifies what command to run when the server receives a WinPopup
2094 This would normally be a command that would deliver the message
2095 somehow. How this is to be done is up to your imagination.
2099 message command = csh -c 'xedit %s;rm %s' &
2101 This delivers the message using xedit, then removes it
2102 afterwards. NOTE THAT IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THIS COMMAND RETURN
2103 IMMEDIATELY. That's why I have the & on the end. If it doesn't return
2104 immediately then your PCs may freeze when sending messages (they
2105 should recover after 30secs, hopefully).
2107 All messages are delivered as the global guest user. The command takes
2108 the standard substitutions, although %u won't work (%U may be better
2111 Apart from the standard substitutions, some additional ones apply. In
2114 %s = the filename containing the message
2116 %t = the destination that the message was sent to (probably the server
2119 %f = who the message is from
2121 You could make this command send mail, or whatever else takes your
2122 fancy. Please let me know of any really interesting ideas you have.
2124 Here's a way of sending the messages as mail to root:
2126 message command = /bin/mail -s 'message from %f on %m' root < %s; rm %s
2128 If you don't have a message command then the message won't be
2129 delivered and Samba will tell the sender there was an
2130 error. Unfortunately WfWg totally ignores the error code and carries
2131 on regardless, saying that the message was delivered.
2133 If you want to silently delete it then try "message command = rm %s".
2135 For the really adventurous, try something like this:
2137 message command = csh -c 'csh < %s |& /usr/local/samba/bin/smbclient \e
2140 this would execute the command as a script on the server, then give
2141 them the result in a WinPopup message. Note that this could cause a
2142 loop if you send a message from the server using smbclient! You better
2143 wrap the above in a script that checks for this :-)
2149 message command = csh -c 'xedit %s;rm %s' &
2151 .SS min print space (S)
2153 This sets the minimum amount of free disk space that must be available
2154 before a user will be able to spool a print job. It is specified in
2155 kilobytes. The default is 0, which means no limit.
2161 min print space = 2000
2163 .SS netbios aliases (G)
2165 This is a list of names that nmbd will advertise as additional
2166 names by which the Samba server is known. This allows one machine
2167 to appear in browse lists under multiple names. If a machine is
2168 acting as a browse server or logon server none of these names
2169 will be advertised as either browse server or logon servers, only
2170 the primary name of the machine will be advertised with these
2173 See also 'netbios name'.
2176 netbios aliases = TEST TEST1 TEST2
2178 .SS netbios name (G)
2180 This sets the NetBIOS name by which a Samba server is known. By
2181 default it is the same as the first component of the host's DNS name.
2182 If a machine is a browse server or logon server this name (or the
2183 first component of the hosts DNS name) will be the name that these
2184 services are advertised under.
2186 See also 'netbios aliases'.
2189 netbios name = MYNAME
2192 Get the home share server from a NIS (or YP) map. For unix systems that
2193 use an automounter, the user's home directory will often be mounted on
2194 a workstation on demand from a remote server. When the Samba logon server
2195 is not the actual home directory server, two network hops are required
2196 to access the home directory and this can be very slow especially with
2197 writing via Samba to an NFS mounted directory. This option allows samba
2198 to return the home share as being on a different server to the logon
2199 server and as long as a samba daemon is running on the home directory
2200 server, it will be mounted on the Samba client directly from the directory
2201 server. When Samba is returning the home share to the client, it will
2202 consult the NIS (or YP) map specified in "homedir map" and return the
2203 server listed there.
2211 .SS null passwords (G)
2212 Allow or disallow access to accounts that have null passwords.
2218 null passwords = yes
2221 A synonym for this command is 'guest only'.
2224 This is a boolean option that controls whether connections with
2225 usernames not in the user= list will be allowed. By default this
2226 option is disabled so a client can supply a username to be used by
2229 Note that this also means Samba won't try to deduce usernames from the
2230 service name. This can be annoying for the [homes] section. To get
2231 around this you could use "user = %S" which means your "user" list
2232 will be just the service name, which for home directories is the name
2242 This boolean option tells smbd whether to issue oplocks (opportunistic
2243 locks) to file open requests on this share. The oplock code was introduced in
2244 Samba 1.9.18 and can dramatically (approx 30% or more) improve the speed
2245 of access to files on Samba servers. It allows the clients to agressively
2246 cache files locally and you may want to disable this option for unreliable
2247 network environments (it is turned on by default in Windows NT Servers).
2248 For more information see the file Speed.txt in the Samba docs/ directory.
2258 This integer value controls what level Samba advertises itself as for
2259 browse elections. See BROWSING.txt for details.
2262 The maximum transmit packet size during a raw read. This option is no
2263 longer implemented as of version 1.7.00, and is kept only so old
2264 configuration files do not become invalid.
2267 This string controls the "chat" conversation that takes places
2268 between smbd and the local password changing program to change the
2269 users password. The string describes a sequence of response-receive
2270 pairs that smbd uses to determine what to send to the passwd program
2271 and what to expect back. If the expected output is not received then
2272 the password is not changed.
2274 This chat sequence is often quite site specific, depending on what
2275 local methods are used for password control (such as NIS+ etc).
2277 The string can contain the macros %o and %n which are substituted for
2278 the old and new passwords respectively. It can also contain the
2279 standard macros \en \er \et and \es to give line-feed, carriage-return,
2282 The string can also contain a * which matches any sequence of
2285 Double quotes can be used to collect strings with spaces in them into
2288 If the send string in any part of the chat sequence is a fullstop "."
2289 then no string is sent. Similarly, is the expect string is a fullstop
2290 then no string is expected.
2293 passwd chat = "*Enter OLD password*" %o\en "*Enter NEW password*" %n\en \e
2294 "*Reenter NEW password*" %n\en "*Password changed*"
2298 passwd chat = *old*password* %o\en *new*password* %n\en *new*password* %n\en *changed*
2300 .SS passwd program (G)
2301 The name of a program that can be used to set user passwords.
2303 This is only necessary if you have enabled remote password changing at
2304 compile time. Any occurrences of %u will be replaced with the user
2307 Also note that many passwd programs insist in "reasonable" passwords,
2308 such as a minimum length, or the inclusion of mixed case chars and
2309 digits. This can pose a problem as some clients (such as Windows for
2310 Workgroups) uppercase the password before sending it.
2313 passwd program = /bin/passwd
2316 passwd program = /sbin/passwd %u
2318 .SS password level (G)
2319 Some client/server combinations have difficulty with mixed-case passwords.
2320 One offending client is Windows for Workgroups, which for some reason forces
2321 passwords to upper case when using the LANMAN1 protocol, but leaves them alone
2322 when using COREPLUS!
2324 This parameter defines the maximum number of characters that may be upper case
2327 For example, say the password given was "FRED". If
2329 is set to 1 (one), the following combinations would be tried if "FRED" failed:
2330 "Fred", "fred", "fRed", "frEd", "freD". If
2331 .B password level was set to 2 (two), the following combinations would also be
2332 tried: "FRed", "FrEd", "FreD", "fREd", "fReD", "frED". And so on.
2334 The higher value this parameter is set to the more likely it is that a mixed
2335 case password will be matched against a single case password. However, you
2336 should be aware that use of this parameter reduces security and increases the
2337 time taken to process a new connection.
2339 A value of zero will cause only two attempts to be made - the password as is
2340 and the password in all-lower case.
2342 If you find the connections are taking too long with this option then
2343 you probably have a slow crypt() routine. Samba now comes with a fast
2344 "ufc crypt" that you can select in the Makefile. You should also make
2345 sure the PASSWORD_LENGTH option is correct for your system in local.h
2346 and includes.h. On most systems only the first 8 chars of a password
2347 are significant so PASSWORD_LENGTH should be 8, but on some longer
2348 passwords are significant. The includes.h file tries to select the
2349 right length for your system.
2357 .SS password server (G)
2359 By specifying the name of another SMB server (such as a WinNT box)
2360 with this option, and using "security = server" you can get Samba to
2361 do all its username/password validation via a remote server.
2363 This options sets the name of the password server to use. It must be a
2364 netbios name, so if the machine's netbios name is different from its
2365 internet name then you may have to add its netbios name to
2368 The password server much be a machine capable of using the "LM1.2X002"
2369 or the "LM NT 0.12" protocol, and it must be in user level security
2372 NOTE: Using a password server means your UNIX box (running Samba) is
2373 only as secure as your password server. DO NOT CHOOSE A PASSWORD
2374 SERVER THAT YOU DON'T COMPLETELY TRUST.
2376 Never point a Samba server at itself for password serving. This will
2377 cause a loop and could lock up your Samba server!
2379 The name of the password server takes the standard substitutions, but
2380 probably the only useful one is %m, which means the Samba server will
2381 use the incoming client as the password server. If you use this then
2382 you better trust your clients, and you better restrict them with hosts
2385 If you list several hosts in the "password server" option then smbd
2386 will try each in turn till it finds one that responds. This is useful
2387 in case your primary server goes down.
2390 A synonym for this parameter is 'directory'.
2392 This parameter specifies a directory to which the user of the service is to
2393 be given access. In the case of printable services, this is where print data
2394 will spool prior to being submitted to the host for printing.
2396 For a printable service offering guest access, the service should be readonly
2397 and the path should be world-writable and have the sticky bit set. This is not
2398 mandatory of course, but you probably won't get the results you expect if you
2401 Any occurrences of %u in the path will be replaced with the username
2402 that the client is connecting as. Any occurrences of %m will be
2403 replaced by the name of the machine they are connecting from. These
2404 replacements are very useful for setting up pseudo home directories
2407 Note that this path will be based on 'root dir' if one was specified.
2416 This option specifies a command to be run whenever the service is
2417 disconnected. It takes the usual substitutions. The command may be run
2418 as the root on some systems.
2420 An interesting example may be do unmount server resources:
2422 postexec = /etc/umount /cdrom
2427 none (no command executed)
2430 postexec = echo \e"%u disconnected from %S from %m (%I)\e" >> /tmp/log
2433 This parameter forces a printer to interpret the print files as
2434 postscript. This is done by adding a %! to the start of print output.
2436 This is most useful when you have lots of PCs that persist in putting
2437 a control-D at the start of print jobs, which then confuses your
2448 This option specifies a command to be run whenever the service is
2449 connected to. It takes the usual substitutions.
2451 An interesting example is to send the users a welcome message every
2452 time they log in. Maybe a message of the day? Here is an example:
2454 preexec = csh -c 'echo \e"Welcome to %S!\e" | \e
2455 /usr/local/samba/bin/smbclient -M %m -I %I' &
2457 Of course, this could get annoying after a while :-)
2462 none (no command executed)
2465 preexec = echo \e"%u connected to %S from %m (%I)\e" >> /tmp/log
2467 .SS preferred master (G)
2468 This boolean parameter controls if Samba is a preferred master browser
2470 If this is set to true, on startup, samba will force an election,
2471 and it will have a slight advantage in winning the election.
2472 It is recommended that this parameter is used in conjunction
2473 with domain master = yes, so that samba can guarantee becoming
2476 Use this option with caution, because if there are several hosts
2477 (whether samba servers, Windows 95 or NT) that are preferred master
2478 browsers on the same subnet, they will each periodically and continuously
2479 attempt to become the local master browser. This will result in
2480 unnecessary broadcast traffic and reduced browsing capabilities.
2486 preferred master = no
2489 This is an alias for "auto services"
2491 .SS preserve case (S)
2493 This controls if new filenames are created with the case that the
2494 client passes, or if they are forced to be the "default" case.
2499 See the section on "NAME MANGLING" for a fuller discussion.
2501 .SS print command (S)
2502 After a print job has finished spooling to a service, this command will be
2503 used via a system() call to process the spool file. Typically the command
2504 specified will submit the spool file to the host's printing subsystem, but
2505 there is no requirement that this be the case. The server will not remove the
2506 spool file, so whatever command you specify should remove the spool file when
2507 it has been processed, otherwise you will need to manually remove old spool
2510 The print command is simply a text string. It will be used verbatim,
2511 with two exceptions: All occurrences of "%s" will be replaced by the
2512 appropriate spool file name, and all occurrences of "%p" will be
2513 replaced by the appropriate printer name. The spool file name is
2514 generated automatically by the server, the printer name is discussed
2517 The full path name will be used for the filename if %s is not preceded
2518 by a /. If you don't like this (it can stuff up some lpq output) then
2519 use %f instead. Any occurrences of %f get replaced by the spool
2520 filename without the full path at the front.
2522 The print command MUST contain at least one occurrence of "%s" or %f -
2523 the "%p" is optional. At the time a job is submitted, if no printer
2524 name is supplied the "%p" will be silently removed from the printer
2527 If specified in the [global] section, the print command given will be used
2528 for any printable service that does not have its own print command specified.
2530 If there is neither a specified print command for a printable service nor a
2531 global print command, spool files will be created but not processed and (most
2532 importantly) not removed.
2534 Note that printing may fail on some UNIXes from the "nobody"
2535 account. If this happens then create an alternative guest account that
2536 can print and set the "guest account" in the [global] section.
2538 You can form quite complex print commands by realising that they are
2539 just passed to a shell. For example the following will log a print
2540 job, print the file, then remove it. Note that ; is the usual
2541 separator for command in shell scripts.
2543 print command = echo Printing %s >> /tmp/print.log; lpr -P %p %s; rm %s
2545 You may have to vary this command considerably depending on how you
2546 normally print files on your system.
2549 print command = lpr -r -P %p %s
2552 print command = /usr/local/samba/bin/myprintscript %p %s
2557 A synonym for this parameter is 'print ok'.
2559 If this parameter is 'yes', then clients may open, write to and submit spool
2560 files on the directory specified for the service.
2562 Note that a printable service will ALWAYS allow writing to the service path
2563 (user privileges permitting) via the spooling of print data. The 'read only'
2564 parameter controls only non-printing access to the resource.
2572 .SS printcap name (G)
2573 This parameter may be used to override the compiled-in default printcap
2574 name used by the server (usually /etc/printcap). See the discussion of the
2575 [printers] section above for reasons why you might want to do this.
2577 For those of you without a printcap (say on SysV) you can just create a
2578 minimal file that looks like a printcap and set "printcap name =" in
2579 [global] to point at it.
2581 A minimal printcap file would look something like this:
2593 where the | separates aliases of a printer. The fact that the second
2594 alias has a space in it gives a hint to Samba that it's a comment.
2596 NOTE: Under AIX the default printcap name is "/etc/qconfig". Samba
2597 will assume the file is in AIX "qconfig" format if the string
2598 "/qconfig" appears in the printcap filename.
2601 printcap name = /etc/printcap
2604 printcap name = /etc/myprintcap
2606 A synonym for this parameter is 'printer name'.
2608 This parameter specifies the name of the printer to which print jobs spooled
2609 through a printable service will be sent.
2611 If specified in the [global] section, the printer name given will be used
2612 for any printable service that does not have its own printer name specified.
2615 none (but may be 'lp' on many systems)
2618 printer name = laserwriter
2620 .SS printer driver (S)
2621 This option allows you to control the string that clients receive when
2622 they ask the server for the printer driver associated with a
2623 printer. If you are using Windows95 or WindowsNT then you can use this
2624 to automate the setup of printers on your system.
2626 You need to set this parameter to the exact string (case sensitive)
2627 that describes the appropriate printer driver for your system.
2628 If you don't know the exact string to use then you should first try
2629 with no "printer driver" option set and the client will give you a
2630 list of printer drivers. The appropriate strings are shown in a
2631 scrollbox after you have chosen the printer manufacturer.
2634 printer driver = HP LaserJet 4L
2636 .SS printer name (S)
2641 This parameters controls how printer status information is interpreted
2642 on your system, and also affects the default values for the "print
2643 command", "lpq command" and "lprm command".
2645 Currently six printing styles are supported. They are "printing =
2646 bsd", "printing = sysv", "printing = hpux", "printing = aix",
2647 "printing = qnx" and "printing = plp".
2649 To see what the defaults are for the other print commands when using
2650 these three options use the "testparm" program.
2654 The value of the parameter (a string) is the highest protocol level that will
2655 be supported by the server.
2657 Possible values are CORE, COREPLUS, LANMAN1, LANMAN2 and NT1. The relative
2658 merits of each are discussed in the README file.
2660 Normally this option should not be set as the automatic negotiation
2661 phase in the SMB protocol takes care of choosing the appropriate protocol.
2669 A synonym for this parameter is 'guest ok'.
2671 If this parameter is 'yes' for a service, then no password is required
2672 to connect to the service. Privileges will be those of the guest
2675 See the section below on user/password validation for more information about
2684 This is a list of users that are given read-only access to a
2685 service. If the connecting user is in this list then they will
2686 not be given write access, no matter what the "read only" option
2687 is set to. The list can include group names using the @group syntax.
2689 See also the "write list" option
2695 read list = mary, @students
2702 Note that this is an inverted synonym for writable and write ok.
2703 .SS read prediction (G)
2704 This options enables or disables the read prediction code used to
2705 speed up reads from the server. When enabled the server will try to
2706 pre-read data from the last accessed file that was opened read-only
2707 while waiting for packets.
2710 read prediction = False
2713 read prediction = True
2715 This parameter controls whether or not the server will support raw reads when
2716 transferring data to clients.
2718 If enabled, raw reads allow reads of 65535 bytes in one packet. This
2719 typically provides a major performance benefit.
2721 However, some clients either negotiate the allowable block size incorrectly
2722 or are incapable of supporting larger block sizes, and for these clients you
2723 may need to disable raw reads.
2725 In general this parameter should be viewed as a system tuning tool and left
2726 severely alone. See also
2736 The option "read size" affects the overlap of disk reads/writes with
2737 network reads/writes. If the amount of data being transferred in
2738 several of the SMB commands (currently SMBwrite, SMBwriteX and
2739 SMBreadbraw) is larger than this value then the server begins writing
2740 the data before it has received the whole packet from the network, or
2741 in the case of SMBreadbraw, it begins writing to the network before
2742 all the data has been read from disk.
2744 This overlapping works best when the speeds of disk and network access
2745 are similar, having very little effect when the speed of one is much
2746 greater than the other.
2748 The default value is 2048, but very little experimentation has been
2749 done yet to determine the optimal value, and it is likely that the best
2750 value will vary greatly between systems anyway. A value over 65536 is
2751 pointless and will cause you to allocate memory unnecessarily.
2759 .SS remote announce (G)
2761 This option allows you to setup nmbd to periodically announce itself
2762 to arbitrary IP addresses with an arbitrary workgroup name.
2764 This is useful if you want your Samba server to appear in a remote
2765 workgroup for which the normal browse propagation rules don't
2766 work. The remote workgroup can be anywhere that you can send IP
2771 remote announce = 192.168.2.255/SERVERS 192.168.4.255/STAFF
2773 the above line would cause nmbd to announce itself to the two given IP
2774 addresses using the given workgroup names. If you leave out the
2775 workgroup name then the one given in the "workgroup" option is used
2778 The IP addresses you choose would normally be the broadcast addresses
2779 of the remote networks, but can also be the IP addresses of known
2780 browse masters if your network config is that stable.
2782 This option replaces similar functionality from the nmbd lmhosts file.
2786 This options controls whether Samba will allow a previously validated
2787 username/password pair to be used to attach to a share. Thus if you
2788 connect to \e\eserver\eshare1 then to \e\eserver\eshare2 it won't
2789 automatically allow the client to request connection to the second
2790 share as the same username as the first without a password.
2792 If "revalidate" is True then the client will be denied automatic
2793 access as the same username.
2807 .SS root directory (G)
2808 Synonyms for this parameter are 'root dir' and 'root'.
2810 The server will chroot() to this directory on startup. This is not
2811 strictly necessary for secure operation. Even without it the server
2812 will deny access to files not in one of the service entries. It may
2813 also check for, and deny access to, soft links to other parts of the
2814 filesystem, or attempts to use .. in file names to access other
2815 directories (depending on the setting of the "wide links" parameter).
2817 Adding a "root dir" entry other than "/" adds an extra level of security,
2818 but at a price. It absolutely ensures that no access is given to files not
2819 in the sub-tree specified in the "root dir" option, *including* some files
2820 needed for complete operation of the server. To maintain full operability
2821 of the server you will need to mirror some system files into the "root dir"
2822 tree. In particular you will need to mirror /etc/passwd (or a subset of it),
2823 and any binaries or configuration files needed for printing (if required).
2824 The set of files that must be mirrored is operating system dependent.
2830 root directory = /homes/smb
2831 .SS root postexec (S)
2833 This is the same as postexec except that the command is run as
2834 root. This is useful for unmounting filesystems (such as cdroms) after
2835 a connection is closed.
2837 .SS root preexec (S)
2839 This is the same as preexec except that the command is run as
2840 root. This is useful for mounting filesystems (such as cdroms) before
2841 a connection is finalised.
2844 This option affects how clients respond to Samba.
2846 The option sets the "security mode bit" in replies to protocol negotiations
2847 to turn share level security on or off. Clients decide based on this bit
2848 whether (and how) to transfer user and password information to the server.
2850 The default is "security=SHARE", mainly because that was the only
2851 option at one stage.
2853 The alternatives are "security = user" or "security = server".
2855 If your PCs use usernames that are the same as their usernames on the
2856 UNIX machine then you will want to use "security = user". If you
2857 mostly use usernames that don't exist on the UNIX box then use
2860 There is a bug in WfWg that may affect your decision. When in user
2861 level security a WfWg client will totally ignore the password you type
2862 in the "connect drive" dialog box. This makes it very difficult (if
2863 not impossible) to connect to a Samba service as anyone except the
2864 user that you are logged into WfWg as.
2866 If you use "security = server" then Samba will try to validate the
2867 username/password by passing it to another SMB server, such as an NT
2868 box. If this fails it will revert to "security = USER".
2870 See the "password server" option for more details.
2877 .SS server string (G)
2878 This controls what string will show up in the printer comment box in
2879 print manager and next to the IPC connection in "net view". It can be
2880 any string that you wish to show to your users.
2882 It also sets what will appear in browse lists next to the machine name.
2884 A %v will be replaced with the Samba version number.
2886 A %h will be replaced with the hostname.
2889 server string = Samba %v
2892 server string = University of GNUs Samba Server
2894 .SS set directory (S)
2895 If 'set directory = no', then users of the service may not use the setdir
2896 command to change directory.
2898 The setdir command is only implemented in the Digital Pathworks client. See the
2899 Pathworks documentation for details.
2907 .SS shared file entries (G)
2908 This parameter is only useful when Samba has been compiled with FAST_SHARE_MODES.
2909 It specifies the number of hash bucket entries used for share file locking.
2910 You should never change this parameter unless you have studied the source
2911 and know what you are doing.
2914 shared file entries = 113
2916 .SS shared mem size (G)
2917 This parameter is only useful when Samba has been compiled with FAST_SHARE_MODES.
2918 It specifies the size of the shared memory (in bytes) to use between smbd
2919 processes. You should never change this parameter unless you have studied
2920 the source and know what you are doing.
2923 shared mem size = 102400
2925 .SS smb passwd file (G)
2926 This option sets the path to the encrypted smbpasswd file. This is a *VERY
2927 DANGEROUS OPTION* if the smb.conf is user writable. By default the path
2928 to the smbpasswd file is compiled into Samba.
2931 This sets the full path to the smbrun binary. This defaults to the
2932 value in the Makefile.
2934 You must get this path right for many services to work correctly.
2940 smbrun = /usr/local/samba/bin/smbrun
2944 This enables or disables the honouring of the "share modes" during a
2945 file open. These modes are used by clients to gain exclusive read or
2946 write access to a file.
2948 These open modes are not directly supported by UNIX, so they are
2949 simulated using lock files in the "lock directory". The "lock
2950 directory" specified in smb.conf must be readable by all users.
2952 The share modes that are enabled by this option are DENY_DOS,
2953 DENY_ALL, DENY_READ, DENY_WRITE, DENY_NONE and DENY_FCB.
2955 Enabling this option gives full share compatibility but may cost a bit
2956 of processing time on the UNIX server. They are enabled by default.
2964 .SS short preserve case (S)
2966 This controls if new short filenames are created with the case that
2967 the client passes, or if they are forced to be the "default" case.
2970 short preserve case = no
2972 See the section on "NAME MANGLING" for a fuller discussion.
2974 .SS socket address (G)
2976 This option allows you to control what address Samba will listen for
2977 connections on. This is used to support multiple virtual interfaces on
2978 the one server, each with a different configuration.
2980 By default samba will accept connections on any address.
2983 socket address = 192.168.2.20
2985 .SS socket options (G)
2986 This option (which can also be invoked with the -O command line
2987 option) allows you to set socket options to be used when talking with
2990 Socket options are controls on the networking layer of the operating
2991 systems which allow the connection to be tuned.
2993 This option will typically be used to tune your Samba server for
2994 optimal performance for your local network. There is no way that Samba
2995 can know what the optimal parameters are for your net, so you must
2996 experiment and choose them yourself. I strongly suggest you read the
2997 appropriate documentation for your operating system first (perhaps
2998 "man setsockopt" will help).
3000 You may find that on some systems Samba will say "Unknown socket
3001 option" when you supply an option. This means you either mis-typed it
3002 or you need to add an include file to includes.h for your OS. If the
3003 latter is the case please send the patch to me
3004 (samba-bugs@samba.anu.edu.au).
3006 Any of the supported socket options may be combined in any way you
3007 like, as long as your OS allows it.
3009 This is the list of socket options currently settable using this
3032 Those marked with a * take an integer argument. The others can
3033 optionally take a 1 or 0 argument to enable or disable the option, by
3034 default they will be enabled if you don't specify 1 or 0.
3036 To specify an argument use the syntax SOME_OPTION=VALUE for example
3037 SO_SNDBUF=8192. Note that you must not have any spaces before or after
3040 If you are on a local network then a sensible option might be
3042 socket options = IPTOS_LOWDELAY
3044 If you have an almost unloaded local network and you don't mind a lot
3045 of extra CPU usage in the server then you could try
3047 socket options = IPTOS_LOWDELAY TCP_NODELAY
3049 If you are on a wide area network then perhaps try setting
3052 Note that several of the options may cause your Samba server to fail
3053 completely. Use these options with caution!
3059 socket options = IPTOS_LOWDELAY
3065 This enables or disables logging of connections to a status file that
3071 won't be able to tell you what
3072 connections are active.
3080 .SS strict locking (S)
3081 This is a boolean that controls the handling of file locking in the
3082 server. When this is set to yes the server will check every read and
3083 write access for file locks, and deny access if locks exist. This can
3084 be slow on some systems.
3086 When strict locking is "no" the server does file lock checks only when
3087 the client explicitly asks for them.
3089 Well behaved clients always ask for lock checks when it is important,
3090 so in the vast majority of cases "strict locking = no" is preferable.
3096 strict locking = yes
3099 This is a boolean that controls whether to strip trailing dots off
3100 UNIX filenames. This helps with some CDROMs that have filenames ending in a
3110 This parameter maps how Samba debug messages are logged onto the
3111 system syslog logging levels. Samba debug level zero maps onto
3112 syslog LOG_ERR, debug level one maps onto LOG_WARNING, debug
3113 level two maps to LOG_NOTICE, debug level three maps onto LOG_INFO.
3114 The paramter sets the threshold for doing the mapping, all Samba
3115 debug messages above this threashold are mapped to syslog LOG_DEBUG
3123 If this parameter is set then Samba debug messages are logged into
3124 the system syslog only, and not to the debug log files.
3131 This is a boolean parameter that controls whether writes will always
3132 be written to stable storage before the write call returns. If this is
3133 false then the server will be guided by the client's request in each
3134 write call (clients can set a bit indicating that a particular write
3135 should be synchronous). If this is true then every write will be
3136 followed by a fsync() call to ensure the data is written to disk.
3145 This parameter is a setting in minutes to add to the normal GMT to
3146 local time conversion. This is useful if you are serving a lot of PCs
3147 that have incorrect daylight saving time handling.
3156 This parameter determines if nmbd advertises itself as a time server
3157 to Windows clients. The default is False.
3165 .SS unix realname (G)
3166 This boolean parameter when set causes samba to supply the real name field
3167 from the unix password file to the client. This is useful for setting up
3168 mail clients and WWW browsers on systems used by more than one person.
3180 A synonym for this parameter is 'user'.
3182 Multiple users may be specified in a comma-delimited list, in which case the
3183 supplied password will be tested against each username in turn (left to right).
3185 The username= line is needed only when the PC is unable to supply its own
3186 username. This is the case for the coreplus protocol or where your
3187 users have different WfWg usernames to UNIX usernames. In both these
3188 cases you may also be better using the \e\eserver\eshare%user syntax
3191 The username= line is not a great solution in many cases as it means Samba
3192 will try to validate the supplied password against each of the
3193 usernames in the username= line in turn. This is slow and a bad idea for
3194 lots of users in case of duplicate passwords. You may get timeouts or
3195 security breaches using this parameter unwisely.
3197 Samba relies on the underlying UNIX security. This parameter does not
3198 restrict who can login, it just offers hints to the Samba server as to
3199 what usernames might correspond to the supplied password. Users can
3200 login as whoever they please and they will be able to do no more
3201 damage than if they started a telnet session. The daemon runs as the
3202 user that they log in as, so they cannot do anything that user cannot
3205 To restrict a service to a particular set of users you can use the
3206 "valid users=" line.
3208 If any of the usernames begin with a @ then the name will be looked up
3209 in the groups file and will expand to a list of all users in the group
3210 of that name. Note that searching though a groups file can take quite
3211 some time, and some clients may time out during the search.
3213 See the section below on username/password validation for more information
3214 on how this parameter determines access to the services.
3217 The guest account if a guest service, else the name of the service.
3221 username = fred, mary, jack, jane, @users, @pcgroup
3223 .SS username level (G)
3225 This option helps Samba to try and 'guess' at the real UNIX username,
3226 as many DOS clients send an all-uppercase username. By default Samba
3227 tries all lowercase, followed by the username with the first letter
3228 capitalized, and fails if the username is not found on the UNIX machine.
3230 If this parameter is set to non-zero the behaviour changes. This
3231 parameter is a number that specifies the number of uppercase combinations
3232 to try whilst trying to determine the UNIX user name. The higher the number
3233 the more combinations will be tried, but the slower the discovery
3234 of usernames will be. Use this parameter when you have strange
3235 usernames on your UNIX machine, such as 'AstrangeUser'.
3243 .SS username map (G)
3245 This option allows you to to specify a file containing a mapping of
3246 usernames from the clients to the server. This can be used for several
3247 purposes. The most common is to map usernames that users use on DOS or
3248 Windows machines to those that the UNIX box uses. The other is to map
3249 multiple users to a single username so that they can more easily share
3252 The map file is parsed line by line. Each line should contain a single
3253 UNIX username on the left then a '=' followed by a list of usernames
3254 on the right. The list of usernames on the right may contain names of
3255 the form @group in which case they will match any UNIX username in
3256 that group. The special client name '*' is a wildcard and matches any
3259 The file is processed on each line by taking the supplied username and
3260 comparing it with each username on the right hand side of the '='
3261 signs. If the supplied name matches any of the names on the right
3262 hand side then it is replaced with the name on the left. Processing
3263 then continues with the next line.
3265 If any line begins with a '#' or a ';' then it is ignored
3267 For example to map from the name "admin" or "administrator" to the UNIX
3268 name "root" you would use
3270 root = admin administrator
3272 Or to map anyone in the UNIX group "system" to the UNIX name "sys" you
3277 You can have as many mappings as you like in a username map file.
3279 Note that the remapping is applied to all occurrences of
3280 usernames. Thus if you connect to "\e\eserver\efred" and "fred" is
3281 remapped to "mary" then you will actually be connecting to
3282 "\e\eserver\emary" and will need to supply a password suitable for
3283 "mary" not "fred". The only exception to this is the username passed
3284 to the "password server" (if you have one). The password server will
3285 receive whatever username the client supplies without modification.
3287 Also note that no reverse mapping is done. The main effect this has is
3288 with printing. Users who have been mapped may have trouble deleting
3289 print jobs as PrintManager under WfWg will think they don't own the
3296 username map = /usr/local/samba/lib/users.map
3300 The option allows you to specify additional characters that should be
3301 considered valid by the server in filenames. This is particularly
3302 useful for national character sets, such as adding u-umlaut or a-ring.
3304 The option takes a list of characters in either integer or character
3305 form with spaces between them. If you give two characters with a colon
3306 between them then it will be taken as an lowercase:uppercase pair.
3308 If you have an editor capable of entering the characters into the
3309 config file then it is probably easiest to use this method. Otherwise
3310 you can specify the characters in octal, decimal or hexadecimal form
3311 using the usual C notation.
3313 For example to add the single character 'Z' to the charset (which is a
3314 pointless thing to do as it's already there) you could do one of the
3319 valid chars = 0132:0172
3321 The last two examples above actually add two characters, and alter
3322 the uppercase and lowercase mappings appropriately.
3324 Note that you MUST specify this parameter after the "client code page"
3325 parameter if you have both set. If "client code page" is set after
3326 the "valid chars" parameter the "valid chars" settings will be
3329 See also the "client code page" parameter.
3333 Samba defaults to using a reasonable set of valid characters
3338 valid chars = 0345:0305 0366:0326 0344:0304
3340 The above example allows filenames to have the swedish characters in
3343 NOTE: It is actually quite difficult to correctly produce a "valid
3344 chars" line for a particular system. To automate the process
3345 tino@augsburg.net has written a package called "validchars" which will
3346 automatically produce a complete "valid chars" line for a given client
3347 system. Look in the examples subdirectory for this package.
3350 This is a list of users that should be allowed to login to this
3351 service. A name starting with @ is interpreted as a UNIX group.
3353 If this is empty (the default) then any user can login. If a username
3354 is in both this list and the "invalid users" list then access is
3355 denied for that user.
3357 The current servicename is substituted for %S. This is useful in the
3360 See also "invalid users"
3363 No valid users list. (anyone can login)
3366 valid users = greg, @pcusers
3370 This is a list of files and directories that are neither visible nor
3371 accessible. Each entry in the list must be separated by a "/", which
3372 allows spaces to be included in the entry. '*' and '?' can be used to
3373 specify multiple files or directories as in DOS wildcards.
3375 Each entry must be a unix path, not a DOS path and must not include the
3376 unix directory separator "/".
3378 Note that the case sensitivity option is applicable in vetoing files.
3380 One feature of the veto files parameter that it is important to be
3381 aware of, is that if a directory contains nothing but files that
3382 match the veto files parameter (which means that Windows/DOS clients
3383 cannot ever see them) is deleted, the veto files within that directory
3384 *are automatically deleted* along with it, if the user has UNIX permissions
3387 Setting this parameter will affect the performance of Samba, as
3388 it will be forced to check all files and directories for a match
3389 as they are scanned.
3391 See also "hide files" and "case sensitive"
3394 No files or directories are vetoed.
3398 Veto any files containing the word Security,
3399 any ending in .tmp, and any directory containing the
3402 veto files = /*Security*/*.tmp/*root*/
3405 Veto the Apple specific files that a NetAtalk server
3408 veto files = /.AppleDouble/.bin/.AppleDesktop/Network Trash Folder/
3411 This allows you to override the volume label returned for a
3412 share. Useful for CDROMs with installation programs that insist on a
3413 particular volume label.
3415 The default is the name of the share
3418 This parameter controls whether or not links in the UNIX file system may be
3419 followed by the server. Links that point to areas within the directory tree
3420 exported by the server are always allowed; this parameter controls access
3421 only to areas that are outside the directory tree being exported.
3431 This is a boolean that controls if nmbd will respond to broadcast name
3432 queries on behalf of other hosts. You may need to set this to no for
3439 This specifies the DNS name (or IP address) of the WINS server that Samba
3440 should register with. If you have a WINS server on your network then you
3441 should set this to the WINS servers name.
3443 You should point this at your WINS server if you have a multi-subnetted
3448 .SS wins support (G)
3450 This boolean controls if Samba will act as a WINS server. You should
3451 not set this to true unless you have a multi-subnetted network and
3452 you wish a particular nmbd to be your WINS server. Note that you
3453 should *NEVER* set this to true on more than one machine in your
3460 This controls what workgroup your server will appear to be in when
3470 A synonym for this parameter is 'write ok'. An inverted synonym is 'read only'.
3472 If this parameter is 'no', then users of a service may not create or modify
3473 files in the service's directory.
3475 Note that a printable service ('printable = yes') will ALWAYS allow
3476 writing to the directory (user privileges permitting), but only via
3477 spooling operations.
3487 This is a list of users that are given read-write access to a
3488 service. If the connecting user is in this list then they will be
3489 given write access, no matter what the "read only" option is set
3490 to. The list can include group names using the @group syntax.
3492 Note that if a user is in both the read list and the write list then
3493 they will be given write access.
3495 See also the "read list" option
3501 write list = admin, root, @staff
3509 This parameter controls whether or not the server will support raw writes when
3510 transferring data from clients.
3517 .SH NOTE ABOUT USERNAME/PASSWORD VALIDATION
3518 There are a number of ways in which a user can connect to a
3519 service. The server follows the following steps in determining if it
3520 will allow a connection to a specified service. If all the steps fail
3521 then the connection request is rejected. If one of the steps pass then
3522 the following steps are not checked.
3524 If the service is marked "guest only = yes" then steps 1 to 5 are skipped
3526 Step 1: If the client has passed a username/password pair and that
3527 username/password pair is validated by the UNIX system's password
3528 programs then the connection is made as that username. Note that this
3529 includes the \e\eserver\eservice%username method of passing a username.
3531 Step 2: If the client has previously registered a username with the
3532 system and now supplies a correct password for that username then the
3533 connection is allowed.
3535 Step 3: The client's netbios name and any previously used user names
3536 are checked against the supplied password, if they match then the
3537 connection is allowed as the corresponding user.
3539 Step 4: If the client has previously validated a username/password
3540 pair with the server and the client has passed the validation token
3541 then that username is used. This step is skipped if "revalidate = yes"
3544 Step 5: If a "user = " field is given in the smb.conf file for the
3545 service and the client has supplied a password, and that password
3546 matches (according to the UNIX system's password checking) with one of
3547 the usernames from the user= field then the connection is made as the
3548 username in the "user=" line. If one of the username in the user= list
3549 begins with a @ then that name expands to a list of names in the group
3552 Step 6: If the service is a guest service then a connection is made as
3553 the username given in the "guest account =" for the service,
3554 irrespective of the supplied password.
3556 Although the configuration file permits service names to contain spaces,
3557 your client software may not. Spaces will be ignored in comparisons anyway,
3558 so it shouldn't be a problem - but be aware of the possibility.
3560 On a similar note, many clients - especially DOS clients - limit service
3561 names to eight characters. Smbd has no such limitation, but attempts
3562 to connect from such clients will fail if they truncate the service names.
3563 For this reason you should probably keep your service names down to eight
3564 characters in length.
3566 Use of the [homes] and [printers] special sections make life for an
3567 administrator easy, but the various combinations of default attributes can be
3568 tricky. Take extreme care when designing these sections. In particular,
3569 ensure that the permissions on spool directories are correct.
3571 This man page is (mostly) correct for version 1.9.16 of the Samba suite, plus some
3572 of the recent patches to it. These notes will necessarily lag behind
3573 development of the software, so it is possible that your version of
3574 the server has extensions or parameter semantics that differ from or are not
3575 covered by this man page. Please notify these to the address below for
3578 Prior to version 1.5.21 of the Samba suite, the configuration file was
3579 radically different (more primitive). If you are using a version earlier than
3580 1.8.05, it is STRONGLY recommended that you upgrade.
3585 .SH ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
3594 .BR hosts_access (5)
3596 [This section under construction]
3598 Most diagnostics issued by the server are logged in a specified log file. The
3599 log file name is specified at compile time, but may be overridden on the
3600 smbd command line (see
3603 The number and nature of diagnostics available depends on the debug level used
3604 by the server. If you have problems, set the debug level to 3 and peruse the
3607 Most messages are reasonably self-explanatory. Unfortunately, at time of
3608 creation of this man page the source code is still too fluid to warrant
3609 describing each and every diagnostic. At this stage your best bet is still
3610 to grep the source code and inspect the conditions that gave rise to the
3611 diagnostics you are seeing.
3615 Please send bug reports, comments and so on to:
3618 .B samba-bugs@samba.anu.edu.au (Andrew Tridgell)
3621 or to the mailing list:
3624 .B samba@listproc.anu.edu.au
3627 You may also like to subscribe to the announcement channel:
3630 .B samba-announce@listproc.anu.edu.au
3633 To subscribe to these lists send a message to
3634 listproc@listproc.anu.edu.au with a body of "subscribe samba Your
3635 Name" or "subscribe samba-announce Your Name".
3637 Errors or suggestions for improvements to the Samba man pages should be
3641 .B samba-bugs@samba.anu.edu.au (Andrew Tridgell)