Linux in a Windows World

Accessing File Shares

One of the most complex topics in Linux SMB/CIFS client operations is file share access. Several tools exist to handle such accesses: the Samba smbclient utility, the smbmount tool for mounting shares, the standard Linux mount command, and the standard Linux /etc/fstab file. (These final three methods are all closely related to one another.) No matter what method you use, you should be aware of some of the limitations of file accesses using SMB/CIFS, as described later.

Using smbclient

The smbclient program ships with Samba and is usually installed in the main samba package or in a package called samba-clients. This program is modelled after text-mode FTP client programs such as ftp. Basic use is fairly straightforward: type smbclient, followed by a NetBIOS name and share name in the form // SERVER/SHARE. The result is a prompt for a password followed by smbclient’s own prompt. You can then type FTP-style commands, such as dir, get, put, and exit. A typical session looks like this:

$ smbclient //MANDRAGORA/DDRIVE
Password:
smb: \> put chapter06.xml
putting file chapter06.xml as \chapter06.xml (613.4 kb/s) (average 613.4 kb/s)
smb: \> dir _Restore DHS 0 Sat Oct 18 13:15:50 2003 Recycled DHS 0 Sat Oct 18 13:17:28 2003 utils D 0 Sat Oct 18 13:37:28 2003 APPS D 0 Sun Oct 19 00:07:20 2003 drivers D 0 Sat Oct 18 15:47:42 2003 chapter06.xml A 11935 Fri May 14 22:20:28 2004 chapter05.xml A 64236 Fri May 14 22:19:50 2004 flashplayer7installer.exe A 658586 Sat Oct 25 ...