Install Samba Share on Debian 11

This guide intends to show you how to Install Samba Share on Debian 11. Samba is an incredibly powerful tool that allows you to create seamless file and printer sharing to SMB/CIFS clients from a Linux server/desktop. With Samba you can even connect that Linux machine to a Windows Domain. But before you can tackle the more challenging aspects of Samba, you first must have it up and running.

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Steps To Install Samba Share on Debian 11

To complete this guide, you must log in to your server as a non-root user with sudo privileges and set up a basic firewall. To do this, you can follow our guide on Initial Server Setup with Debian 11.

Now follow the steps below to Install Samba Share on Debian 11.

Install Samba on Debian 11

Samba packages are available in the default Debian repository. First, update your local package index with the command below:

sudo apt update

Then, use the following command to Install Samba Share on Debian 11:

sudo apt install samba smbclient cifs-utils

This will install the dependencies and required packages.

Configure Samba on Debian 11

At this point, you need to make some changes to the Samba config file and create shared Samba directories. To do these, follow the steps below.

Set Samba Global Settings

At this point, you need to open the Samba configuration file with your favorite text editor, here we use vi:

sudo vi /etc/samba/smb.conf

Under the Global section, find the line below and make sure it is like this:

workgroup = WORKGROUP

When you are done, save and close the file.

Create a Shared Samba Directory

At this point, you can share both public and private directories. So you can create the two directories by using the following commands:

# sudo mkdir /public 
# sudo mkdir /private

Now you need to open the Samba config file again and add the shares and authentication methods to the end of the file.

sudo vi /etc/samba/smb.conf

[public]
   comment = Public Folder
   path = /public
   writable = yes
   guest ok = yes
   guest only = yes
   force create mode = 775
   force directory mode = 775
[private]
   comment = Private Folder
   path = /private
   writable = yes
   guest ok = no
   valid users = @smbshare
   force create mode = 770
   force directory mode = 770
   inherit permissions = yes

When you are done, save and close the file.

At this point, you need the Samba share user group to access the Private share as specified in the config file above.

Create the group by using the command below:

sudo groupadd smbshare

Set the correct permissions for the private share by using the commands below:

# sudo chgrp -R smbshare /private/
# sudo chgrp -R smbshare /public

Next, set the correct permissions for the directories:

# sudo chmod 2770 /private/ 
# sudo chmod 2775 /public

Note: The value 2 at the beginning of the above commands, stands for the SGID bit. This allows newly created files to inherit the parent group.

Now you should create a no-login local user to access the private share by using the command below:

sudo useradd -M -s /sbin/nologin sambauser

Then, add the user to the Samba share group on Debian 11 with the following command:

sudo usermod -aG smbshare sambauser

Finally, set a password for your Samba user:

sudo smbpasswd -a sambauser

Output
New SMB password:
Retype new SMB password:
Added user sambauser.

Enable the created account by using the following command:

sudo smbpasswd -e sambauser

Output
Enabled user sambauser.

Verify Samba Configuration

When you are done with the above steps, you can test whether your Samba configuration on Debian 11 is working correctly or not with the following command:

sudo testparm

Output
Load smb config files from /etc/samba/smb.conf
Loaded services file OK.
Weak crypto is allowed
Server role: ROLE_STANDALONE

Press enter to see a dump of your service definitions

# Global parameters
[global]
        log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m
        logging = file
        map to guest = Bad User
        max log size = 1000
        obey pam restrictions = Yes
        pam password change = Yes
        panic action = /usr/share/samba/panic-action %d
        passwd chat = *Enter\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *Retype\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *password\supdated\ssuccessfully* .
        passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u
        server role = standalone server
        unix password sync = Yes
        usershare allow guests = Yes
        idmap config * : backend = tdb


[homes]
        browseable = No
        comment = Home Directories
        create mask = 0700
        directory mask = 0700
        valid users = %S


[printers]
        browseable = No
        comment = All Printers
        create mask = 0700
        path = /var/spool/samba
        printable = Yes


[print$]
        comment = Printer Drivers
        path = /var/lib/samba/printers


[public]
        comment = Public Folder
        force create mode = 0775
        force directory mode = 0775
        guest ok = Yes
        guest only = Yes
        path = /public
        read only = No


[private]
        comment = Private Folder
        force create mode = 0770
        force directory mode = 0770
        inherit permissions = Yes
        path = /private
        read only = No
        valid users = @smbshare

This means that everything is configured appropriately.

At this point, you can create demo files in the Samba shares. To do this. you can run the following commands:

# sudo mkdir /private/demo-private /public/demo-public
# sudo touch /private/demo1.txt /public/demo2.txt

To apply the changes, restart the Samba service on Debian 11:

sudo systemctl restart nmbd

Configure Firewall for Samba

If you have a firewall running, you need to allow remote access from the specified IP range as shown below:

sudo ufw allow from 192.168.205.0/24 to any app Samba

Before you set up Samba clients, you can try accessing your shared files with the command below on Debian 11:

smbclient '\\localhost\private' -U sambauser

Output
Enter WORKGROUP\sambauser's password:
Try "help" to get a list of possible commands.
smb: \> ls
  .                                   D        0  Wed Jan 25 06:05:43 2023
  ..                                  D        0  Wed Jan 25 05:48:51 2023
  demo1.txt                           N        0  Wed Jan 25 06:05:43 2023
  demo-private                        D        0  Wed Jan 25 06:05:36 2023

                51670492 blocks of size 1024. 47061244 blocks available
smb: \>

At this point, we want to show you access to the share from Windows. First, open a run box using Win+R, enter your Debian 11 IP address in the box, and click OK:

Run Box, open Samba share - Install Samba Share on Debian 11 — Run Box

Then, the Samba shared folders on Debian 11 should appear as below:

You can open one of the files, and create a new file there. You should see the file on your server machine too.

Mount Network Drive

At this point, you can mount the Samba share permanently on your Windows system. Click on This PC->Map Network Drive. This will open a window for you, provide the Path details, and click Finish.

Then, enter the Samba user credentials and click ok.

You will have the share available on your This PC.

Set up Samba Linux Client

At this point, you can access the shared folders from a Linux client. To do this, you need to have Samba packages installed on your server. Here our Linux client is Debian 11:

sudo apt install samba-client cifs-utils

Then, navigate to File Manager ->Other locations and add your share using the syntax below.

smb://server-name/Share_name

Enter the credentials for the Samba user. That is it! You have your Samba share on your Linux client machine.

Conclusion

At this point, you have learned to Install Samba Share on Debian 11. Also, you have learned to set up Samba clients on both Windows and Linux machines.

Hope you enjoy it.