Enabling Samba Shares Across Subnets, Part 2 - page 3

Sharing With Windows and Multiple Subnets

If you are using Samba as your primary domain controller (PDC), then your Samba PDC should also be the domain master browser. If your Samba boxes are part of a Windows NT or Active Directory domain, then all the Sambas need to be LMBs, because by default Windows domain controllers are also the domain master browsers. You do not want conflicting domain master browsers, because then network browsing won't work.

Because browse lists are updated at approximately 15 minute intervals, it can take some time for them to get all up-to-date. Windows caches the browse lists, so a common problem is it will appear to hang when it tries to establish a connection with a share that is no longer on the network. The bigger your network and the more shares and hosts there on it, the more this can be a problem. The quickest fix is for users to simply delete the shortcuts to the unavailable hosts.

Once you get a simple anonymous Samba server shared reliably across subnets, you can go ahead and set up additional shares, restricted password-protected shares, and user's home directories just like on any Samba server.

Resources

Two indispensible references are:

• Chapter 10. Network Browsing of the Official Samba 3.2.x HOWTO and Reference Guide
• man smb.conf

Carla Schroder is the author of the Linux Cookbook and the Linux Networking Cookbook. Both books have extensive Samba chapters. Carla is also the managing editor of Linux Planet.

LinuxPlanet Classics: originally published, January 17, 2008