In this article, we are going to explore how to install and setup Samba file sharing on CentOS 7 virtual machine. Samba is a free software application that helps Linux servers to share resources and files with other clients such as windows clients, Mac, and other distributions. Samba application uses TCP/IP for sharing data between the cross-platform servers. To use CentOS as a file server, you must know how to install and configure Samba. Samba is implemented using CIFS and SMB protocols. Whereby CIFS stands for common internet file system while SMB stands for Server Message Block.
<h2>Installation and configuration of samba step by step</h2>
To check the version of CentOS running on your machine type the following command.
$ cat /etc/centos-release
<img height="110" src="file:///C:/Users/Vinny/AppData/Local/Packages/oice_16_974fa576_32c1d314_160a/AC/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.gif" width="464"/>
<ol>
 <li>To install any &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;packages in the CentOS 7 ensure you have administrator privileges.</li>
</ol>
$ Sudo us
This command allows one to gain administrator rights.
Install samba and all required packages from default CentOS repositories using the yum package manager tool. By executing the following command.
$yum install samba* -y
<img height="188" src="file:///C:/Users/Vinny/AppData/Local/Packages/oice_16_974fa576_32c1d314_160a/AC/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif" width="624"/>
<img height="403" src="file:///C:/Users/Vinny/AppData/Local/Packages/oice_16_974fa576_32c1d314_160a/AC/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image006.gif" width="624"/>
The above command will install the following packages.
Samba-client - this is required for samba-client
samba-common -contains all the samba commands needed to configure samba in CentOS.
Samba -This rpm is needed for the SAMBA server
Samba-winbind -used to establish a connection between Windows and CentOS servers.
<ol>
 <li>Create two folders in the home directory private and &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;public folders.</li>
</ol>
The public folder will be accessible by all members of the network whereas the private folder will only be accessible by authorized users.
To create the folders we use the following command :
$ mkdir /home/public
$ mkdir /home/private
<img height="32" src="file:///C:/Users/Vinny/AppData/Local/Packages/oice_16_974fa576_32c1d314_160a/AC/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image008.gif" width="464"/>
The check the fcontext of the two folders by using the following commands
$ ls -ldZ /home/public
$ ls -ldZ /home/private
<img height="201" src="file:///C:/Users/Vinny/AppData/Local/Packages/oice_16_974fa576_32c1d314_160a/AC/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image010.gif" width="624"/>
To give the fcontext to the two folders we are going to use the following commands
$ semanage fcontext -a -t samba_share_t '/public(/.*)?'
$ semanage fcontext -a -t samba_share_t '/private(/.*)?'
The /.* denotes that any other file created in the directory will automatically fcontext
<img height="33" src="file:///C:/Users/Vinny/AppData/Local/Packages/oice_16_974fa576_32c1d314_160a/AC/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image012.gif" width="624"/>
After running this command run the restorecon command for both public and private folder.This command is used to set the security context in one or more files
$ restorecon -vvRF /home/public/
$restorecon -vvRF /home/public/
Then check the fcontext of the two folders i.e private and public by using the commands below .
$ ls -ldZ /home/public
$ ls -ldZ /home/private
<img height="89" src="file:///C:/Users/Vinny/AppData/Local/Packages/oice_16_974fa576_32c1d314_160a/AC/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image014.gif" width="567"/>
Compare the two output from the one you had earlier and see the difference.you will notice that the folder fcontext has changed to samba_share_t for two folders private and public.
After that give the permission to the directories that i.e private and public by typing the following commands.
$ chmod 777 /home/public
$ chmod 777 /home/private
<img height="64" src="file:///C:/Users/Vinny/AppData/Local/Packages/oice_16_974fa576_32c1d314_160a/AC/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image016.gif" width="481"/>
<ol>
 <li>Configure &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;the samba smb.conf file .</li>
</ol>
In this step we will be editing smb.conf file using nano editor .This file is located at/etc/samba/.
Note before making any changes to the file its advisable to create a backup copy of the original file.To create the copy use the following command .
$ cp /etc/samba/smb.conf /etc/samba/smb.conf/backup
<img height="25" src="file:///C:/Users/Vinny/AppData/Local/Packages/oice_16_974fa576_32c1d314_160a/AC/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image018.gif" width="624"/>
To open the configuration file with nano editor we will use the following command .
$ nano /etc/samba/smb.conf
On opening the configuration file , change the workgroup=SAMBA to
Workgroup =WORKGROUP - This only applies if you are using windows operating system in your network.
The navigate to the bottom of the file and add the following lines
[samba-/home/public]
comment=private samba share
path=/public
public=yes
browseable=yes
writeable=yes
To explain the above line .
Path -this is the path to the public folder
Public =yes this means that the folder is accessible to every one on the network.
Browseable =yes this means that the file can be browsed
And last is writable yes this means that the file can be read or written by anyone in the network.
After this we will add the lines for the private folder
[samba-private]
path=/home/private
comment=private samba share
pulic =no
valid users=user 1 user2
write list =user1
read list =user2
To explain for the private folder we have set the accessibility to no and only given acces to he user1 and user2. We have also limited the user permission to edit the folder by only giving user1 the privileges to write.
Next we will test weather our configurations were correct by using the following command.
$ testparm
<img height="105" src="file:///C:/Users/Vinny/AppData/Local/Packages/oice_16_974fa576_32c1d314_160a/AC/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image020.gif" width="439"/>
<img height="599" src="file:///C:/Users/Vinny/AppData/Local/Packages/oice_16_974fa576_32c1d314_160a/AC/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image022.gif" width="395"/>
When we take an keen look at the samba-public it has given guest ok to yes meaning the folder is publicly accessible and read only to no which means that every on can edit .
<ol>
 <li>In step four &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;we will be creating the two users user1 and user2 by using the following &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;command.</li>
</ol>
$ useradd user1
$ useradd user2
<img height="57" src="file:///C:/Users/Vinny/AppData/Local/Packages/oice_16_974fa576_32c1d314_160a/AC/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image024.gif" width="624"/>
Next we will set the samba password for each user by using the following commands.
$ smbpassword -a user1
$ smbpassword -a user2
<img height="149" src="file:///C:/Users/Vinny/AppData/Local/Packages/oice_16_974fa576_32c1d314_160a/AC/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image026.gif" width="432"/>
Then, we will start samba services, which are smb and nmb service.To start this services we will use the following command .
$ systemctl start smb nmb
<img height="64" src="file:///C:/Users/Vinny/AppData/Local/Packages/oice_16_974fa576_32c1d314_160a/AC/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image028.gif" width="447"/>
We will also enable samba to start automatically on booting by typing the command below.
$ systemctl &nbsp;enable smb nmb
<img height="111" src="file:///C:/Users/Vinny/AppData/Local/Packages/oice_16_974fa576_32c1d314_160a/AC/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image030.gif" width="624"/>
The next step is to configure firewall to allow samba services.
To configure firewall we will use the following command .
$ firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=samba
$ firewall-cmd --reload
<img height="179" src="file:///C:/Users/Vinny/AppData/Local/Packages/oice_16_974fa576_32c1d314_160a/AC/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image032.gif" width="624"/>
By now we have completed the server side configuration .To check weather the we are getting the share directories from the server we will use the commands below.
First we will check the ip address of the server by typing the following command.
$ ifconfig
<img height="331" src="file:///C:/Users/Vinny/AppData/Local/Packages/oice_16_974fa576_32c1d314_160a/AC/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image034.gif" width="589"/>
To check the shared directories we will use these command .
$ smbclient -L ip address
<img height="334" src="file:///C:/Users/Vinny/AppData/Local/Packages/oice_16_974fa576_32c1d314_160a/AC/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image036.gif" width="506"/>
In conclusion that was the entire process of setting up samba server for file sharing.

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How to setup Samba File Sharing Server on CentOS 7/ RHEL 7

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