Unable to file share using Samba

[syrex]

Hi,

I am pretty new to Linux, trying to make a share server run on Fedora Core 6. I have all the latest updates applied. I initially could not log in to the server from my XP SP2 box (192.168.1.5), but I could reach the shared folder on the XP client from my Linux box. After reading so many posts, and trying different things, Fedora can no longer even see the Windows workgroup anymore, although I can ping the XP box and browse the Net.

From XP, trying to get into the server, I get the standard not accessible error.

Here are some things I captured to try to see if someone can spot what I have wrong:

[root@Drake ~]# testparm /etc/samba/smb.conf
Load smb config files from /etc/samba/smb.conf
Processing section "[homes]"
Processing section "[printers]"
Processing section "[Shared]"
Loaded services file OK.
Server role: ROLE_STANDALONE
Press enter to see a dump of your service definitions

[global]
server string = Drake
interfaces = etho, eth1, lo
log file = /var/log/samba/%m.log
max log size = 50
dns proxy = No
hosts allow = 192.168.1.0/24, 127.
hosts deny = all
cups options = raw

[homes]
comment = Home Directories
read only = No
browseable = No

[printers]
comment = All Printers
path = /usr/spool/samba
printable = Yes
browseable = No

[Shared]
comment = Shared files
path = /mnt/G-Drive/shared
read only = No
guest ok = Yes



smbd.log:

[2007/05/21 11:24:29, 0] smbd/server.c:main(847)
smbd version 3.0.24-5.fc6 started.
Copyright Andrew Tridgell and the Samba Team 1992-2006


nmbd.log:

[2007/05/21 11:24:29, 0] nmbd/nmbd.c:main(700)
Netbios nameserver version 3.0.24-5.fc6 started.
Copyright Andrew Tridgell and the Samba Team 1992-2006


192.168.1.5.log:

empty


main.log:

[2007/05/21 11:24:57, 0] smbd/service.c:make_connection_snum(920)
'/mnt/G-Drive/shared' does not exist or permission denied when connecting to [Shared] Error was Permission denied
[2007/05/21 11:24:58, 0] smbd/service.c:make_connection_snum(920)
'/mnt/G-Drive/shared' does not exist or permission denied when connecting to [Shared] Error was Permission denied
[2007/05/21 11:24:58, 0] smbd/service.c:make_connection_snum(920)
'/mnt/G-Drive/shared' does not exist or permission denied when connecting to [Shared] Error was Permission denied
[2007/05/21 11:25:03, 0] smbd/service.c:make_connection_snum(920)
'/mnt/G-Drive/shared' does not exist or permission denied when connecting to [Shared] Error was Permission denied

I double checked my capitalization, and /mnt/G-Drive/shared is the correct spelling of my shared area. I should also note that the shared area exists on a ntfs formatted drive that is being accessed through ntfs-3g. I also have a server 2003 partition on this machine also using this drive, and I hope to eventually store large files on the drive, so need a fs that can handle 4gig+ files that Windows can read.

Can anyone help? Thanks!

[TexasMo]

maybe make check your firewall to allow smb ports to be open and accessible..
also,, make sure you have a user added with smbpasswd -a user.. then enable the user with smbpasswd -e user

It took me while to remember to do that part.. and every time.. doink.. no smb share would be found..lol

good luck..

[barf]

FYI SWAT is a Samba configuration tool which will make managing Sambe simpler.

[jhetrick62]

Swat can be both a blessing and at times confusing. You are missing the first rule of thumb with samba, start very small and simple and after it works, add features one by one so that you can see their effect.

IMHO, take out the host allow and host deny lines. Unless you are truly attempting to restrict someone form within your LAN, these are unnecessary if your router is setup properly and your server is the only box that is accessible to the WAN. As I said before, after it is working, you can experiment with that stuff.

Take a look at this thread for a basic howto on getting samba running. http://www.fedoraforum.org/forum/showthread.php?t=94257
Honestly, I haven't used the stock samba conf file in 3 years as after I got mine the way I wanted, I have copied it over to my next install and every time it has worked with minor tweaks.

I can say that my family accesses my server off of a mixed environment, and one thing that I always use is the netbios name for the server. I also run the wins server on my samba box. It seems to make the windows machines like it a little better. But try that AFTER you get a working system.

I also didn't see a line in your post indicating that security was set to user.

[brad_c6]

It may help by changeing SELINUX to Permissive (Then it worked for me)

[syrex]

Originally Posted by jhetrick62

IMHO, take out the host allow and host deny lines. Unless you are truly attempting to restrict someone form within your LAN, these are unnecessary if your router is setup properly and your server is the only box that is accessible to the WAN. As I said before, after it is working, you can experiment with that stuff.

Long story short, I completely rebuilt my FC6 box from scratch. I left out the hosts deny and allow this time.

Originally Posted by jhetrick62

Take a look at this thread for a basic howto on getting samba running. http://www.fedoraforum.org/forum/showthread.php?t=94257

Followed this almost to the letter. The only thing I did not mess with was groups, but did EVERYTHING else.

Originally Posted by jhetrick62

I also didn't see a line in your post indicating that security was set to user.

For some reason it doesn't show up in the testparm results but it is in there.

So, still not able to access. Verified that the service is running. From windows, I can browse the workgroup and see the "shared" and "Mike" (me) folders showing up on server Drake. However, it does not like to open them:

"\\Drake\shared is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permissions.

The network path was not found."

Access for this share is wide open, 777.

When I tried mapping a drive to the share, which shows up just fine under the windows workgroup, I get the error "The network path was not found." I also tried this using the IP instead of the server name, same result.

For grins and giggles, I tried using username "root" and the root password for authentication, and never got the error, it just kept prompting for a new username/password combo.

Any ideas? (Thanks for everything so far!)

[syrex]

OK, it's working, but...

I was playing around to see if it was the firewall, so I disabled it and it was not. I then went to the SELinux tab of the "Security Level and Firewall" wizard, and changed SELinux from 'Enforcing' to 'Permissive'. It was at this point that I could access the share.

So, the question now, is, what exactly did I do, and should I undo it?

[rclark]

Naw, Personally, if you are running in a home network, selinux just gets in your way. I just disabled mine. Unix/Linux has run just fine without it for years. I do the same to my servers at work that are in the corporate network (which are not exposed to the WWW) as again it is just that much more to keep track of for security I really don't need. But that is my opinion only .

[syrex]

Originally Posted by rclark

Naw, Personally, if you are running in a home network, selinux just gets in your way.

Ah, but my ultimate goal will have this exposed to the web. Will the firewall permissions be enough to leave SELinux off as well, if I'm running a LAMP server, and email?

[marcrblevins]

Selinux is our Big Brother's stuff(NSA). Its your preference to disable or enable.

I currently have it running. Just have to tinker with Selinux/Firewall program some more.

[crolma4]

The only parts of SELinux that need to back off are protections for nmbd and smbd, which you can change by going
system-config-securitylevel
in bash, which brings up a GUI. Navigate to the samba list on teh SELinux tab and hit the check boxes.

[barf]

SE linux But not if you install setroubleshoot. If SE is blocking something it tells you so and even comes up with (mostly useful) instructions on how to fix the problem. My 2 cents