1 <!DOCTYPE refentry PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook V4.1//EN">
5 <refentrytitle>nmbd</refentrytitle>
6 <manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
11 <refname>nmbd</refname>
12 <refpurpose>NetBIOS name server to provide NetBIOS
13 over IP naming services to clients</refpurpose>
18 <command>nmbd</command>
19 <arg choice="opt">-D</arg>
20 <arg choice="opt">-a</arg>
21 <arg choice="opt">-i</arg>
22 <arg choice="opt">-o</arg>
23 <arg choice="opt">-h</arg>
24 <arg choice="opt">-V</arg>
25 <arg choice="opt">-d <debug level></arg>
26 <arg choice="opt">-H <lmhosts file></arg>
27 <arg choice="opt">-l <log directory></arg>
28 <arg choice="opt">-n <primary netbios name></arg>
29 <arg choice="opt">-p <port number></arg>
30 <arg choice="opt">-s <configuration file></arg>
35 <title>DESCRIPTION</title>
36 <para>This program is part of the Samba suite.</para>
38 <para><command>nmbd</command> is a server that understands
39 and can reply to NetBIOS over IP name service requests, like
40 those produced by SMB/CIFS clients such as Windows 95/98/ME,
41 Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP and LanManager clients. It also
42 participates in the browsing protocols which make up the
43 Windows "Network Neighborhood" view.</para>
45 <para>SMB/CIFS clients, when they start up, may wish to
46 locate an SMB/CIFS server. That is, they wish to know what
47 IP number a specified host is using.</para>
49 <para>Amongst other services, <command>nmbd</command> will
50 listen for such requests, and if its own NetBIOS name is
51 specified it will respond with the IP number of the host it
52 is running on. Its "own NetBIOS name" is by
53 default the primary DNS name of the host it is running on,
54 but this can be overridden with the <emphasis>-n</emphasis>
55 option (see OPTIONS below). Thus <command>nmbd</command> will
56 reply to broadcast queries for its own name(s). Additional
57 names for <command>nmbd</command> to respond on can be set
58 via parameters in the <ulink url="smb.conf.5.html"><filename>
59 smb.conf(5)</filename></ulink> configuration file.</para>
61 <para><command>nmbd</command> can also be used as a WINS
62 (Windows Internet Name Server) server. What this basically means
63 is that it will act as a WINS database server, creating a
64 database from name registration requests that it receives and
65 replying to queries from clients for these names.</para>
67 <para>In addition, <command>nmbd</command> can act as a WINS
68 proxy, relaying broadcast queries from clients that do
69 not understand how to talk the WINS protocol to a WINS
74 <title>OPTIONS</title>
79 <listitem><para>If specified, this parameter causes
80 <command>nmbd</command> to operate as a daemon. That is,
81 it detaches itself and runs in the background, fielding
82 requests on the appropriate port. By default, <command>nmbd</command>
83 will operate as a daemon if launched from a command shell.
84 nmbd can also be operated from the <command>inetd</command>
85 meta-daemon, although this is not recommended.
91 <listitem><para>If this parameter is specified, each new
92 connection will append log messages to the log file.
93 This is the default.</para></listitem>
98 <listitem><para>If this parameter is specified it causes the
99 server to run "interactively", not as a daemon, even if the
100 server is executed on the command line of a shell. Setting this
101 parameter negates the implicit daemon mode when run from the
108 <listitem><para>If this parameter is specified, the
109 log files will be overwritten when opened. By default,
110 <command>smbd</command> will append entries to the log
111 files.</para></listitem>
116 <listitem><para>Prints the help information (usage)
117 for <command>nmbd</command>.</para></listitem>
121 <term>-H <filename></term>
122 <listitem><para>NetBIOS lmhosts file. The lmhosts
123 file is a list of NetBIOS names to IP addresses that
124 is loaded by the nmbd server and used via the name
125 resolution mechanism <ulink url="smb.conf.5.html#nameresolveorder">
126 name resolve order</ulink> described in <ulink
127 url="smb.conf.5.html"> <filename>smb.conf(5)</filename></ulink>
128 to resolve any NetBIOS name queries needed by the server. Note
129 that the contents of this file are <emphasis>NOT</emphasis>
130 used by <command>nmbd</command> to answer any name queries.
131 Adding a line to this file affects name NetBIOS resolution
132 from this host <emphasis>ONLY</emphasis>.</para>
134 <para>The default path to this file is compiled into
135 Samba as part of the build process. Common defaults
136 are <filename>/usr/local/samba/lib/lmhosts</filename>,
137 <filename>/usr/samba/lib/lmhosts</filename> or
138 <filename>/etc/lmhosts</filename>. See the
139 <ulink url="lmhosts.5.html"><filename>lmhosts(5)</filename></ulink>
140 man page for details on the contents of this file.</para></listitem>
145 <listitem><para>Prints the version number for
146 <command>nmbd</command>.</para></listitem>
150 <term>-d <debug level></term>
151 <listitem><para>debuglevel is an integer
152 from 0 to 10. The default value if this parameter is
153 not specified is zero.</para>
155 <para>The higher this value, the more detail will
156 be logged to the log files about the activities of the
157 server. At level 0, only critical errors and serious
158 warnings will be logged. Level 1 is a reasonable level for
159 day to day running - it generates a small amount of
160 information about operations carried out.</para>
162 <para>Levels above 1 will generate considerable amounts
163 of log data, and should only be used when investigating
164 a problem. Levels above 3 are designed for use only by developers
165 and generate HUGE amounts of log data, most of which is extremely
168 <para>Note that specifying this parameter here will override
169 the <ulink url="smb.conf.5.html#loglevel">log level</ulink>
170 parameter in the <ulink url="smb.conf.5.html"><filename>
171 smb.conf(5)</filename></ulink> file.</para></listitem>
175 <term>-l <log directory></term>
176 <listitem><para>The -l parameter specifies a directory
177 into which the "log.nmbd" log file will be created
178 for operational data from the running <command>nmbd</command>
179 server. The default log directory is compiled into Samba
180 as part of the build process. Common defaults are <filename>
181 /usr/local/samba/var/log.nmb</filename>, <filename>
182 /usr/samba/var/log.nmb</filename> or
183 <filename>/var/log/log.nmb</filename>. <emphasis>Beware:</emphasis>
184 If the directory specified does not exist, <command>nmbd</command>
185 will log to the default debug log location defined at compile time.
191 <term>-n <primary NetBIOS name></term>
192 <listitem><para>This option allows you to override
193 the NetBIOS name that Samba uses for itself. This is identical
194 to setting the <ulink url="smb.conf.5.html#netbiosname">
195 NetBIOS name</ulink> parameter in the <ulink url="smb.conf.5.html">
196 <filename>smb.conf</filename></ulink> file. However, a command
197 line setting will take precedence over settings in
198 <filename>smb.conf</filename>.</para></listitem>
203 <term>-p <UDP port number></term>
204 <listitem><para>UDP port number is a positive integer value.
205 This option changes the default UDP port number (normally 137)
206 that <command>nmbd</command> responds to name queries on. Don't
207 use this option unless you are an expert, in which case you
208 won't need help!</para></listitem>
212 <term>-s <configuration file></term>
213 <listitem><para>The default configuration file name
214 is set at build time, typically as <filename>
215 /usr/local/samba/lib/smb.conf</filename>, but
216 this may be changed when Samba is autoconfigured.</para>
218 <para>The file specified contains the configuration details
219 required by the server. See <ulink url="smb.conf.5.html">
220 <filename>smb.conf(5)</filename></ulink> for more information.
231 <term><filename>/etc/inetd.conf</filename></term>
232 <listitem><para>If the server is to be run by the
233 <command>inetd</command> meta-daemon, this file
234 must contain suitable startup information for the
235 meta-daemon. See the <ulink
236 url="UNIX_INSTALL.html">UNIX_INSTALL.html</ulink> document
242 <term><filename>/etc/rc</filename></term>
243 <listitem><para>or whatever initialization script your
246 <para>If running the server as a daemon at startup,
247 this file will need to contain an appropriate startup
248 sequence for the server. See the <ulink
249 url="UNIX_INSTALL.html">UNIX_INSTALL.html</ulink> document
250 for details.</para></listitem>
254 <term><filename>/etc/services</filename></term>
255 <listitem><para>If running the server via the
256 meta-daemon <command>inetd</command>, this file
257 must contain a mapping of service name (e.g., netbios-ssn)
258 to service port (e.g., 139) and protocol type (e.g., tcp).
259 See the <ulink url="UNIX_INSTALL.html">UNIX_INSTALL.html</ulink>
260 document for details.</para></listitem>
264 <term><filename>/usr/local/samba/lib/smb.conf</filename></term>
265 <listitem><para>This is the default location of the
266 <ulink url="smb.conf.5.html"><filename>smb.conf</filename></ulink>
267 server configuration file. Other common places that systems
268 install this file are <filename>/usr/samba/lib/smb.conf</filename>
269 and <filename>/etc/smb.conf</filename>.</para>
271 <para>When run as a WINS server (see the
272 <ulink url="smb.conf.5.html#WINSSUPPORT">wins support</ulink>
273 parameter in the <filename>smb.conf(5)</filename> man page),
274 <command>nmbd</command>
275 will store the WINS database in the file <filename>wins.dat</filename>
276 in the <filename>var/locks</filename> directory configured under
277 wherever Samba was configured to install itself.</para>
279 <para>If <command>nmbd</command> is acting as a <emphasis>
280 browse master</emphasis> (see the <ulink
281 url="smb.conf.5.html#LOCALMASTER">local master</ulink>
282 parameter in the <filename>smb.conf(5)</filename> man page,
283 <command>nmbd</command>
284 will store the browsing database in the file <filename>browse.dat
285 </filename> in the <filename>var/locks</filename> directory
286 configured under wherever Samba was configured to install itself.
293 <title>SIGNALS</title>
295 <para>To shut down an <command>nmbd</command> process it is recommended
296 that SIGKILL (-9) <emphasis>NOT</emphasis> be used, except as a last
297 resort, as this may leave the name database in an inconsistent state.
298 The correct way to terminate <command>nmbd</command> is to send it
299 a SIGTERM (-15) signal and wait for it to die on its own.</para>
301 <para><command>nmbd</command> will accept SIGHUP, which will cause
302 it to dump out its namelists into the file <filename>namelist.debug
303 </filename> in the <filename>/usr/local/samba/var/locks</filename>
304 directory (or the <filename>var/locks</filename> directory configured
305 under wherever Samba was configured to install itself). This will also
306 cause <command>nmbd</command> to dump out its server database in
307 the <filename>log.nmb</filename> file.</para>
309 <para>The debug log level of nmbd may be raised or lowered using
310 <ulink url="smbcontrol.1.html"><command>smbcontrol(1)</command>
311 </ulink> (SIGUSR[1|2] signals are no longer used in Samba 2.2). This is
312 to allow transient problems to be diagnosed, whilst still running
313 at a normally low log level.</para>
318 <title>VERSION</title>
320 <para>This man page is correct for version 3.0 of
321 the Samba suite.</para>
325 <title>SEE ALSO</title>
326 <para><command>inetd(8)</command>, <ulink
327 url="smbd.8.html"><command>smbd(8)</command></ulink>,
328 <ulink url="smb.conf.5.html"><filename>smb.conf(5)</filename>
329 </ulink>, <ulink url="smbclient.1.html"><command>smbclient(1)
330 </command></ulink>, <ulink url="testparm.1.html"><command>
331 testparm(1)</command></ulink>, <ulink url="testprns.1.html">
332 <command>testprns(1)</command></ulink>, and the Internet RFC's
333 <filename>rfc1001.txt</filename>, <filename>rfc1002.txt</filename>.
334 In addition the CIFS (formerly SMB) specification is available
335 as a link from the Web page <ulink url="http://samba.org/cifs/">
336 http://samba.org/cifs/</ulink>.</para>
340 <title>AUTHOR</title>
342 <para>The original Samba software and related utilities
343 were created by Andrew Tridgell. Samba is now developed
344 by the Samba Team as an Open Source project similar
345 to the way the Linux kernel is developed.</para>
347 <para>The original Samba man pages were written by Karl Auer.
348 The man page sources were converted to YODL format (another
349 excellent piece of Open Source software, available at
350 <ulink url="ftp://ftp.icce.rug.nl/pub/unix/">
351 ftp://ftp.icce.rug.nl/pub/unix/</ulink>) and updated for the Samba 2.0
352 release by Jeremy Allison. The conversion to DocBook for
353 Samba 2.2 was done by Gerald Carter</para>