Linux in a Windows World

Example Shares

Knowing what the parameters are that control Samba share definitions and knowing how to use those parameters are two different things. Failing to see the forest for the trees, as it were, is easy to do when confronted with a list of Samba parameters. For this reason, this chapter concludes with a look at several common uses of Samba file and printer shares: the [homes] share, which provides users with data storage space for their own files; a share that can store program files, templates, and other shared read-only files; shares for exchanging files between users; a closer look at the [printers] share introduced earlier; and a “printer” share that generates PDF files rather than paper printouts.

The [homes] Share

Many Samba server computers function, in whole or in part, as centralized storage locations for users’ files. Users store their important files on the Samba server, enabling them to store more or larger files than would fit on their clients’ disks and to move from one client to another and access their own home files. This strategy can also greatly simplify backup; if users’ data files are on a single server, that server can be backed up more easily than can an entire network’s worth of files, thus providing more reliable insurance in case of hardware failure.

The user data storage function is so important that Samba provides a special share name just for this purpose: [homes]. This share functions much like an ordinary file share but with several important ...