Installing Samba on Ubuntu Server #

This guide installs Samba on an Ubuntu server and creates a Windows-accessible network share.

1. Install Samba #

Update the package list and install Samba:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install samba

Verify the installation:

smbd --version

2. Create a Directory to Share #

For this setup, the shared directory is:

/srv/share

Create it:

sudo mkdir -p /srv/share

Set the directory owner to your Ubuntu user. In this example, the user is jsmith:

sudo chown jsmith:jsmith /srv/share

Check the permissions:

ls -ld /srv/share

The result should look similar to:

drwxr-xr-x 2 jsmith jsmith 4096 Sep 3 21:28 /srv/share

3. Create a Samba User #

Samba has its own password database.

Add the existing Ubuntu user to Samba:

sudo smbpasswd -a jsmith

Enter a Samba password when prompted.

Enable the Samba account:

sudo smbpasswd -e jsmith

Note: The Samba password does not necessarily have to be the same as the Ubuntu login password.

4. Configure the Samba Share #

Edit the Samba configuration:

sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

Add the following to the bottom of the file:

[Share]
    path = /srv/share
    browseable = yes
    read only = no
    writable = yes
    valid users = jsmith

Save the file and exit Nano.

5. Check the Samba Configuration #

Always test the configuration before restarting Samba:

testparm

You should see:

Loaded services file OK.

To see the active configuration:

testparm -s

The share should appear as:

[Share]
    path = /srv/share
    read only = No
    valid users = jsmith

6. Start and Enable Samba #

Restart Samba:

sudo systemctl restart smbd

Enable Samba to start automatically after reboot:

sudo systemctl enable smbd

Check its status:

sudo systemctl status smbd

Look for:

Active: active (running)

7. Verify Samba Is Listening #

Check that Samba is listening on the standard SMB ports:

sudo ss -tulpn | grep -E ':(139|445)'

You should see Samba listening on port 445 and usually port 139.

For example:

tcp LISTEN ... 0.0.0.0:139 ... smbd
tcp LISTEN ... 0.0.0.0:445 ... smbd

Port 445 is the important SMB port.

8. Check the Ubuntu Firewall #

Check UFW:

sudo ufw status

If UFW is active, allow Samba:

sudo ufw allow samba

If UFW is inactive, no firewall change is necessary.

9. Test Samba Locally #

Install the Samba client tools:

sudo apt install smbclient

Test the share locally:

smbclient //localhost/Share -U jsmith

Enter the Samba password.

A successful connection will give you:

smb: \>

You can then test the contents with:

ls

Exit with:

quit

10. Connect from Windows #

Find the Ubuntu server's IP address:

hostname -I

For example:

192.168.1.221

From Windows File Explorer, enter:

\\192.168.1.221\Share

When prompted for credentials, use:

Username: jsmith
Password: <Samba password>

If you have problems connecting from Windows 11 #

Run the following commands in Windows PowerShell as Administrator:

Set-SmbClientConfiguration -RequireSecuritySignature $false

Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters" RequireSecureNegotiate -Value 0 -Force

Restart the computer and try connecting again

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