samba server on redhat 7.1? how to setup properly?

hi, im running redhat 7.1 and am having a bit of trouble setting up a samba server (im only experimenting so am open to all suggestions)

what i think i have is samba 2.7.35, i think it is installed properly, when i do the rpm -i samba it says it has this version installed, i went to make a config file but there wasnt one there to start with so i tried making one based on what a book i have suggested told me to do with an example

so i made the file and edited the appropriate daemon config files (i have xinetd instead of inetd, the book only says stuff about the xinetd and how to make samba run)

i followed the directions in the book to try and get SWAT to run in netscape and it keeps giving me a "can't find host /server" error when i try to run swat (http://localhost:901), would it be adviseable to get the latest samba version and latest kernel and try to do something with that?

also, could it be possible that xinetd does not run when the system boots up and is then not listening for requests?

You don't need to run either SWAT or xinetd for samba to work. Try checking if samba is already running (with ps) and if it isn't, try

/etc/init.d/smb start

and you should see

Starting SMB services: [ OK ]
Starting NMB services: [ OK ]

If you don't, there's something wrong.

Configuring samba is easiest by editing smb.conf (probably in /etc/samba/smb.conf). This file is mostly self explanatory and is likely to be shipped with loads of examples.

You say you can't find the config file, but you have samba installed - I expect Redhat installed a sample config, but they may not have put it where you expected. Try /etc/samba/smb.conf and /etc/smb.conf. I have Mandrake here which is very similar to Redhat and it puts it in /etc/samba/smb.conf

Note that the man pages might say it's in /etc/smb.conf. Ignore them and find out where it really is (Redhat will have customised it)

Uncomment the bits you want and have a go.

In order for changes to take effect - for some settings the server needs to be restarted (/etc/init.d/smb restart) - but for many changes (such as adding shares), it happens immediately or when the *client* logs out and in again.

Beware of stopping the smb daemon when users have open files - it may cause issues (esp. with complex Windows file types such as Access which is easily corrupted)

smbstatus will show you who's connected and which files they have open.

Cheers

Slarty

in red hat 7.1 samba configuration file is in the path

/etc/samba/smb.conf ..that is for sure as i work on it...infact when you install the rpm you will get that file plus the smbd and nmbd daemons..and you will have a script called smb under

/etc/rc.d/init.d

and for final check of your service, assuming that you know to set up the configuration file i suggest the following checks ups

1, you have created the samba users
2, you have set the security level ( security = ) to the proper value in the config file
3, both smbd and nmbd are running
4, no ipchains/iptables rules are blocking your samba server
5, you network is working fine
6, you have set the workgroup/domains properly

i understand that your first problem is that you dont have the config file..for that you have two options

1, create the config file by hand and confirm that you have the above mentioned daemons
2, simply reinstall the package once again and all willl be fine

i hope i have been of help to you...feel free to get in touch..happy hacking

with regards
scorpion

Configuring Samba
Samba uses /etc/samba/smb.conf as its configuration file. If you change this configuration file, the changes will not take effect until you restart the Samba daemon with the command service smb restart.

The default configuration file (smb.conf) in Red Hat Linux 7.2 and 7.1 allows users to view their Linux home directories as a Samba share on the Windows machine after they log in using the same username and password. It also shares any printers configured for the Red Hat Linux system as Samba shared printers. In other words, you can attach a printer to your Red Hat Linux system and print to it from the Windows machines on your network.

To specify the Windows workgroup and description string, edit the following lines in your smb.conf file: workgroup = WORKGROUPNAME
server string = BRIEF COMMENT ABOUT SERVER

Replace WORKGROUPNAME with the name of the Windows workgroup to which this machine should belong. The BRIEF COMMENT ABOUT SERVER is optional and will be the Windows comment about the Samba system.

To create a Samba share directory on your Linux system, add the following section to your smb.conf file (after modifying it to reflect your needs and your system): [sharename]
comment = Insert a comment here
path = /home/share/
valid users = tfox carole
public = no
writable = yes
printable = no
create mask = 0765

The above example allows the users tfox and carole to read and write to the directory /home/share, on the Samba server, from a Samba client.