What’s not to like with Samba. If you’re not familiar with Samba, it’s an open-source file and printer services which allows disparate clients to share files via SMB/CIFS standard, meaning there’s interoperability between Linux/Unix servers and Windows-based clients. This article will show you how to install a Samba shared drive on an Ubuntu Server.

Install Samba Server

sudo apt-get install samba

Configure Samba by editing /usr/samba/smb.conf. Uncomment and add the following.

security = user

[share]
comment = Ubuntu File Server Share
path = /home/ulysses/share
browsable = yes
guest ok = yes
read only = no
create mask = 0755

Create the shared drive.

sudo mkdir /home/ulysses/share
sudo chown nobody.nogroup /home/ulysses/share
sudo chmod -R 0777 /home/ulysses/share

Restart Samba Server

sudo restart smbd
sudo restart nmbd

Test the shared drive by accessing it from another computer or from another OS like a Mac or Windows.