======Create Windows SMB Network Share with samba under Ubuntu======

Samba is a free software re-implementation of the SMB/CIFS networking protocol. Samba provides file and print services for various Microsoft Windows clients and can integrate with a Microsoft Windows Server domain.

=====Setup SMB share=====

====Installation====

First install the ''samba'' package:

<code>
$ sudo apt install samba
</code>

The configuration files are located at ''/etc/samba/smb.conf''

====User creation====

Next we need to add a SMB user, used to sign-in to the SMB share. These user credentials need to match the existing Linux user's specifications exactly.

Creating a SMB user is provided by the ''smbpasswd'' command, followed by the ''-a'' flag, which specifies that we want to add a new user. Remember, the name and password needs to match the Linux user exactly.

<code>
$ sudo smbpasswd -a <user>
</code>

If you need to create multiple SMB users, [[server:samba_windows_share_multiuser|go here]].

====Configuration====

As mentioned further above, the configuration files are located at ''/etc/samba/smb.conf''
These this file is used to configure the relevant shares and permissions.

Adding a simple share, with only ''<user>'' having access to it, would require this configuration at the bottom of the config file:

<code>
[share]
comment = Files
valid users = <user>
public = yes
writable = yes
browsable = yes
path = "/path/to/share"
</code>

=====Starting the service=====

Samba includes a systemd service by default called ''smbd.service''
Once your configurations are complete, you can start the SMB server:

<code>
$ sudo systemctl start smbd
$ sudo systemctl enable smbd
</code>