Chapter 1. Introduction

Samba uses the SMB protocol to share files and printers across a network connection. Operating systems that support this protocol include Microsoft Windows, OS/2, and Linux.

The Fedora Core kernel contains Access Control List (ACL) support for ext3 file systems. If the Samba server shares an ext3 file system with ACLs enabled for it, and the kernel on the client system contains support for reading ACLs from ext3 file systems, the client automatically recognizes and uses the ACLs.

The default configuration file (/etc/samba/smb.conf) allows users to view their home directories as a Samba share. It also shares any printers configured for the system as Samba shared printers. In other words, you can attach a printer to the system and print to it from the Windows machines on your network.

The Samba Server Configuration Tool is a graphical interface for managing Samba shares, users, and basic server settings. It modifies the configuration files in the /etc/samba/ directory. Any changes to these files not made using the application are preserved.

To use this application, you must be running the X Window System, have root privileges, and have the system-config-samba RPM package installed. To start the Samba Server Configuration Tool from the desktop, go to the Main Menu Button (on the Panel) => System Settings => Server Settings => Samba or type the command system-config-samba at a shell prompt (for example, in an XTerm or a GNOME terminal).

	Note
	The Samba Server Configuration Tool does not display shared printers or the default stanza that allows users to view their own home directories on the Samba server.