Chapter 22. Samba and Print Server
Secrets in This Chapter
What Is Samba?
Samba in Ubuntu
Configuring a Samba Server
The CUPS Server
Even though the Linux movement is gaining popularity, there's no denying that the Microsoft Windows platform is still the major player in most computing environments. This doesn't mean that you have to give up on your Ubuntu server if all of your workstations use Microsoft Windows. Your Ubuntu server is perfectly capable of playing nicely in your Windows environment, thanks to the Samba software package. This chapter discusses how to use Samba to allow the Microsoft Windows clients on your network to connect to shared folders and printers on your Ubuntu server. The chapter describes how Samba works in Ubuntu and demonstrates some simple configuration guides for creating shared folders and printers. The chapter also discusses the common UNIX printing system (CUPS), which allows you to share your Ubuntu system printers with other types of devices on your network.
What Is Samba?
The Samba software was created in 1992 by Andrew Tridgell to allow Linux systems to share resources with Microsoft Windows systems on a Windows network. The name Samba is somewhat of a play on the main protocol used in Microsoft networks, the server message block (SMB) protocol. Andrew fed the term SMB into a dictionary program to produce words that include those three letters. He decided on the name Samba.
Samba is now maintained by a team of volunteer developers, and it allows Linux ...
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