How to Install Samba on ArchLinux

Samba is a free and open-source software that provides a seamless means of file sharing between Windows and Linux/Unix systems on a network. Samba is essentially an open-source re-implementation of SMB (Server Messaging Block) and CIFS (Common Internet File System) networking protocols. Aside from sharing files between clients and hosts, Samba also allows for sharing, printing, and domain control services within the network.

This tutorial will show you how to set up and configure Samba on an ArchLinux client or server.

Installation

To install Samba from the official repository, simply enter the following command:

$ sudo pacman -S samba

Samba should now be installed on your system.

Configuration

Before proceeding to configure Samba, first, copy the configuration file:

$ sudo cp /etc/samba/smb.conf.default /etc/samba/smb.conf

See that this configuration file does not have any misplaced syntax by running the following:

$ testparm

We will now create a Linux user by the name of dom. This Linux user wil have access to the server.

$ sudo useradd dom
$ sudo pdbedit -a -u dom

The second command line creates a user account named dom. You will then be asked to give a new password to log in with. You can change this password anytime.

$ sudo smbpasswd samba_user

To save these changes, reboot the service by entering the following:

$ sudo systemctl restart smbd nmbd

Share Samba Services

Enable Samba by running the following command:

$ sudo systemctl start smbd nmbd

To automatically start the Samba upon system boot, issue the following:

$ sudo systemctl enable smbd nmbd

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you learned how to install and enable Samba on your ArchLinux system. Your client-server networks of either Linux or Windows can now share files and printing services. With Samba, your server can now exchange files with your remote clients. You can also provide centralized printing services if your server has a printer connected to it.

That is all we have for you today. We hope that you found this guide easy to follow. To learn more, visit linuxhint.com.