2 Frequently Asked Questions
8 (FAQ version 1.9.02, Samba version 1.09.02)
10 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12 This FAQ was originally prepared by Karl Auer (Karl.Auer@anu.edu.au) and is
13 currently maintained by Paul Blackman (ictinus@lake.canberra.edu.au).
15 As Karl originally said, 'this FAQ was prepared with lots of help from numerous
16 net.helpers', and that's the way I'd like to keep it. So if you find anything
17 that you think should be in here don't hesitate to contact me.
19 Thanks to Karl for the work he's done, and continuing thanks to Andrew Tridgell
22 Note: This FAQ is (and probably always will be) under construction. Some
23 sections exist only as optimistic entries in the Contents page.
25 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
29 * SECTION ONE: General information
30 All about Samba - what it is, how to get it, related sources of
32 * SECTION TWO: Compiling and installing Samba on a Unix host
33 Common problems that arise when building and installing Samba under
35 * SECTION THREE: Common client problems
36 Common problems that arise when trying to communicate from a client
37 computer to a Samba server. All problems which have symptoms you see
38 at the client end will be in this section.
39 * SECTION FOUR: Specific client problems
40 This section covers problems that are specific to certain clients,
41 such as Windows for Workgroups or Windows NT. Please check Section
43 * SECTION FIVE: Specific client application problems
44 This section covers problems that are specific to certain products,
45 such as Windows for Workgroups or Windows NT. Please check Sections
47 * SECTION SIX: Miscellaneous
48 All the questions that aren't classifiable into any other section.
51 ===============================================================================
52 SECTION ONE: General information
53 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
56 Samba is a suite of programs which work together to allow clients to access
57 Unix filespace and printers via the SMB (Session Message Block) protocol.
59 In practice, this means that you can redirect disks and printers to Unix disks
60 and printers from Lan Manager clients, Windows for Workgroups 3.11 clients,
61 Windows NT clients and OS/2 clients. There is also a Unix client program
62 supplied as part of the suite which allows Unix users to use an ftp-like
63 interface to access filespace and printers on any other SMB servers.
65 The components of the suite are (in summary):
67 * smbd, the SMB server. This handles actual connections from clients
68 * nmbd, the Netbios name server, which helps clients locate servers
69 * smbclient, the Unix-hosted client program
70 * smbrun, a little 'glue' program to help the server run external
72 * testprns, a program to test server access to printers
73 * testparms, a program to test the Samba configuration file for
75 * smb.conf, the Samba configuration file
76 * smbprint, a sample script to allow a Unix host to use smbclient to
77 print to an SMB server
79 The suite is supplied with full source (of course!) and is GPLed.
81 The primary creator of the Samba suite is Andrew Tridgell. Later versions
82 incorporate much effort by many net.helpers. The man pages and this FAQ were
85 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
86 * 2: What is the current version of Samba?
88 At time of writing, the current version was 1.9.12. If you want to be sure
89 check the bottom of the change-log file.
90 (nimbus.anu.edu.au/pub/tridge/samba/change-log)
92 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
93 * 3: Where can I get it?
95 The Samba suite is available via anonymous ftp from nimbus.anu.edu.au. The
96 latest and greatest versions of the suite are in the directory:
100 Development (read "alpha") versions, which are NOT necessarily stable and which
101 do NOT necessarily have accurate documentation, are available in the directory:
103 /pub/tridge/samba/alpha
105 Note that binaries are NOT included in any of the above. Samba is distributed
106 ONLY in source form, though binaries may be available from other sites. Recent
107 versions of some Linux distributions, for example, do contain Samba binaries
110 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
111 * 4: What platforms are supported?
113 Many different platforms have run Samba successfully. The platforms most widely
114 used and thus best tested are Linux and SunOS.
116 At time of writing, the Makefile claimed support for:
119 * Linux with shadow passwords
120 * Linux without shadow passwords
122 * SOLARIS 2.2 and above (aka SunOS 5)
126 * OSF1 with NIS and Fast Crypt (alpha only)
127 * OSF1 V2.0 Enhanced Security (alpha only)
141 * ISC SVR3V4 (POSIX mode)
142 * ISC SVR3V4 (iBCS2 mode)
144 * SCO with shadow passwords.
145 * SCO with shadow passwords, without YP.
146 * SCO with TCB passwords
147 * SCO 3.2v2 (ODT 1.1) with TCP passwords
150 * Apollo Domain/OS sr10.3 (BSD4.3)
152 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
153 * 5: How can I find out more about Samba?
155 There are two mailing lists devoted to discussion of Samba-related matters.
156 There is also the newsgroup, comp.protocols.smb, which has a great deal of
159 Send email to listproc@anu.edu.au. Make sure the subject line is blank, and
160 include the following two lines in the body of the message:
162 subscribe samba Firstname Lastname
163 subscribe samba-announce Firstname Lastname
165 Obviously you should substitute YOUR first name for "Firstname" and YOUR last
166 name for "Lastname"! Try not to send any signature stuff, it sometimes confuses
169 The samba list is a digest list - every eight hours or so it regurgitates a
170 single message containing all the messages that have been received by the list
171 since the last time and sends a copy of this message to all subscribers.
173 If you stop being interested in Samba, please send another email to
174 listproc@anu.edu.au. Make sure the subject line is blank, and include the
175 following two lines in the body of the message:
178 unsubscribe samba-announce
180 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
181 * 6: Something's gone wrong - what should I do?
183 [#] *** IMPORTANT! *** [#]
184 DO NOT post messages on mailing lists or in newsgroups until you have carried
185 out the first three steps given here!
187 Firstly, see if there are any likely looking entries in this FAQ!
189 Secondly, read the man pages for smbd, nmbd and smb.conf, looking for topics
190 that relate to what you are trying to do.
192 Thirdly, if there is no obvious solution to hand, try to get a look at the log
193 files for smbd and/or nmbd for the period during which you were having
194 problems. You may need to reconfigure the servers to provide more extensive
195 debugging information - usually level 2 or level 3 provide ample debugging
196 info. Inspect these logs closely, looking particularly for the string "Error:".
198 If you successfully solve a problem, please mail me a succinct description of
199 the symptom, the problem and the solution, so I can incorporate it in the next
203 ===============================================================================
204 SECTION TWO: Compiling and installing Samba on a Unix host
205 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
208 ===============================================================================
209 SECTION THREE: Common client problems
210 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
211 * 1: I can't see the Samba server in any browse lists!
213 *** Until the FAQ can be updated, please check the file:
214 *** ftp://nimbus.anu.adu.au/pub/tridge/samba/BROWSING.txt
215 *** for more information on browsing.
217 If your GUI client does not permit you to select non-browsable servers, you may
218 need to do so on the command line. For example, under Lan Manager you might
219 connect to the above service as disk drive M: thusly:
221 net use M: \\mary\fred
223 The details of how to do this and the specific syntax varies from client to
224 client - check your client's documentation.
226 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
227 * 2: Some files that I KNOW are on the server doesn't show up when I view the
228 directories from my client!
230 If you check what files are not showing up, you will note that they are files
231 which contain upper case letters or which are otherwise not DOS-compatible (ie,
232 they are not legal DOS filenames for some reason).
234 The Samba server can be configured either to ignore such files completely, or
235 to present them to the client in "mangled" form. If you are not seeing the
236 files at all, the Samba server has most likely been configured to ignore them.
237 Consult the man page smb.conf(5) for details of how to change this - the
238 parameter you need to set is "mangled names = yes".
240 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
241 * 3: Some files on the server show up with really wierd filenames when I view
242 the directories from my client!
244 If you check what files are showing up wierd, you will note that they are files
245 which contain upper case letters or which are otherwise not DOS-compatible (ie,
246 they are not legal DOS filenames for some reason).
248 The Samba server can be configured either to ignore such files completely, or
249 to present them to the client in "mangled" form. If you are seeing strange file
250 names, they are most likely "mangled". If you would prefer to have such files
251 ignored rather than presented in "mangled" form, consult the man page
252 smb.conf(5) for details of how to change the server configuration - the
253 parameter you need to set is "mangled names = no".
255 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
256 * 4: My client reports "cannot locate specified computer" or similar.
258 This indicates one of three things: You supplied an incorrect server name, the
259 underlying TCP/IP layer is not working correctly, or the name you specified
262 After carefully checking that the name you typed is the name you should have
263 typed, try doing things like pinging a host or telnetting to somewhere on your
264 network to see if TCP/IP is functioning OK. If it is, the problem is most
265 likely name resolution.
267 If your client has a facility to do so, hardcode a mapping between the hosts IP
268 and the name you want to use. For example, with Man Manager or Windows for
269 Workgroups you would put a suitable entry in the file LMHOSTS. If this works,
270 the problem is in the communication between your client and the netbios name
271 server. If it does not work, then there is something fundamental wrong with
272 your naming and the solution is beyond the scope of this document.
274 If you do not have any server on your subnet supplying netbios name resolution,
275 hardcoded mappings are your only option. If you DO have a netbios name server
276 running (such as the Samba suite's nmbd program), the problem probably lies in
277 the way it is set up. Refer to Section Two of this FAQ for more ideas.
279 By the way, remember to REMOVE the hardcoded mapping before further tests :-)
281 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
282 * 5: My client reports "cannot locate specified share name" or similar.
284 This message indicates that your client CAN locate the specified server, which
285 is a good start, but that it cannot find a service of the name you gave.
287 The first step is to check the exact name of the service you are trying to
288 connect to (consult your system administrator). Assuming it exists and you
289 specified it correctly (read your client's doco on how to specify a service
290 name correctly), read on:
292 * Many clients cannot accept or use service names longer than eight
294 * Many clients cannot accept or use service names containing spaces.
295 * Some servers (not Samba though) are case sensitive with service names.
296 * Some clients force service names into upper case.
298 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
299 * 6: My client reports "cannot find domain controller", "cannot log on to the
302 Nothing is wrong - Samba does not implement the primary domain name controller
303 stuff for several reasons, including the fact that the whole concept of a
304 primary domain controller and "logging in to a network" doesn't fit well with
305 clients possibly running on multiuser machines (such as users of smbclient
308 Seeing this message should not affect your ability to mount redirected disks
309 and printers, which is really what all this is about.
311 For many clients (including Windows for Workgroups and Lan Manager), setting
312 the domain to STANDALONE at least gets rid of the message.
314 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
315 * 7: Printing doesn't work :-(
317 Make sure that the specified print command for the service you are connecting
318 to is correct and that it has a fully-qualified path (eg., use "/usr/bin/lpr"
319 rather than just "lpr").
321 Make sure that the spool directory specified for the service is writable by the
322 user connected to the service. In particular the user "nobody" often has
323 problems with printing, even if it worked with an earlier version of Samba. Try
324 creating another guest user other than "nobody".
326 Make sure that the user specified in the service is permitted to use the
329 Check the debug log produced by smbd. Search for the printer name and see if
330 the log turns up any clues. Note that error messages to do with a service ipc$
331 are meaningless - they relate to the way the client attempts to retrieve status
332 information when using the LANMAN1 protocol.
334 If using WfWg then you need to set the default protocol to TCP/IP, not Netbeui.
337 If using the Lanman1 protocol (the default) then try switching to coreplus.
338 Also not that print status error messages don't mean printing won't work. The
339 print status is received by a different mechanism.
341 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
342 * 8: My programs install on the server OK, but refuse to work properly.
344 There are numerous possible reasons for this, but one MAJOR possibility is that
345 your software uses locking. Make sure you are using Samba 1.6.11 or later. It
346 may also be possible to work around the problem by setting "locking=no" in the
347 Samba configuration file for the service the software is installed on. This
348 should be regarded as a strictly temporary solution.
350 In earlier Samba versions there were some difficulties with the very latest
351 Microsoft products, particularly Excel 5 and Word for Windows 6. These should
352 have all been solved. If not then please let Andrew Tridgell know.
355 ===============================================================================
356 SECTION FOUR: Specific client problems
357 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
358 * 1: Are any MacIntosh clients for Samba.
360 In Rob Newberry's words (rob@eats.com, Sun, 4 Dec 1994):
362 The answer is "No." Samba speaks SMB, the protocol used for Microsoft networks.
363 The Macintosh has ALWAYS spoken Appletalk. Even with Microsoft "services for
364 Macintosh", it has been a matter of making the server speak Appletalk. It is
365 the same for Novell Netware and the Macintosh, although I believe Novell has
366 (VERY LATE) released an extension for the Mac to let it speak IPX.
368 In future Apple System Software, you may see support for other protocols, such
369 as SMB -- Applet is working on a new networking architecture that will make it
370 easier to support additional protocols. But it's not here yet.
372 Now, the nice part is that if you want your Unix machine to speak Appletalk,
373 there are several options. "Netatalk" and "CAP" are free, and available on the
374 net. There are also several commercial options, such as "PacerShare" and
375 "Helios" (I think). In any case, you'll have to look around for a server, not
376 anything for the Mac.
378 Depending on you OS, some of these may not help you. I am currently
379 coordinating the effort to get CAP working with Native Ethertalk under Linux,
380 but we're not done yet.
385 ===============================================================================
386 SECTION FIVE: Specific client application problems
387 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
390 ===============================================================================
391 SECTION SIX: Miscellaneous
392 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
395 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
396 Maintained By Paul Blackman, Email:ictinus@lake.canberra.edu.au