This Samba Tips document has been created to assist in the setup of connections between Red Hat Linux systems and the various types of MS-Windows systems for printing or file sharing using the Samba suite. Note, however, that while we have strived to generate a document that is as accurate as possible, there is no express or implied guarantee that any specific commands given will work on your system exactly as suggested, and the authors cannot be held liable for any consequences resulting from the usage of this information, be it correct, partially correct, or incorrect.
Several commonly used terms are defined below:
a collection of programs that use the SMB protocol to allow sharing of Unix system file systems and printers as well as allow sharing of Windows (Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Windows 95, and Windows NT) client file space and printers with Unix systems running Samba.
Session Message Block protocol
file space (directories) on a server that can be accessed by a client system through Samba
a system providing a service (e.g. an accessible disk drive/file space or a printer); can be either a Red Hat system or a Windows system under Samba.
a system using a service (e.g. disk drive/file space or printer) on some some other system acting as a server; again, can be either a Windows system or a Red Hat system under Samba.
The information below was developed from and tested on various Red Hat Linux systems including RHL 2.1 and 3.0.3 using Samba 1.9.13, and more recently RHL 4.0 using Samba 1.9.16.
It is assumed that you have a physical network connection between your Red Hat system(s) and your Windows-based system(s), including network cards in each machine and a physical connection between them. For example, you could have Ethernet cards in each machine, connected by twisted pair cable through an Ethernet hub.