I installed it, followed the instructions in their additional texts online for configuration, but still when I open up my Network Neighborhood on my Win98 boxes all I see is a workgroup icon labelled "bandrshaw.com" in addition to my Windows workgroup icon "bandrshaw" (which works). The bandrshaw.com icon is my Linux server, but I cannot open or explore it in any way. I get "BANDRSHAW.COM is not accessible, the computer or sharename cannot be found." I've spent hours on this and it's driving me nuts. Any ideas where I should look to start?

Hmm, is the RedHat 8 Samba box a router too? Possible the fact that you added a .com to the WORKGROUP name that Win98 is trying to resolve it to an IP which it probably can do if you there is a site called bandrshaw.com and tries to set up a NETBIOS session and failed because bandshaw.com doesn't listen for NETBIOS.

I need more details of your network setup.

--tarballedtux

I have a NAT setup to my DSL, it's an SMC Barricade VPN firewall/NAT/router/switch/etc/etc/8-port 10/100. I have 2 Win98 pc's which recognize each other just fine under the bandrshaw workgroup. The SMC Barricade handles DHCP, and says it will handle DNS but I'm not convinced so I enabled DNS on my server. I did not enable the router feature of the server since I have a hardware router already that seems to work fine. I have all incoming ports closed on the router except 8080, and 22, (as I'm next going to setup the Apache server for a class I'm taking on webservers). I also already setup my networked printer, which on the server shows up fine, but from the network I can't see it because I can't get into the server.

First, move the server into the Window$ workgroup.
Give it a name which isn't similar to the workgroup name..

By the way, I do own bandrshaw.com, so eventually I want to use this as it's home server.

For now, though, I went back into smb.conf and changed the workgroup name from bandrshaw.com to just bandrshaw, then rebooted the server and the workstation both. Now only one workgroup shows up (bandrshaw), but only my Windows PC's show up there, my server doesn't, however.

Just put your smb.conf file in here. It's sounds like a config problem.

--tarballedtux

# This is the main Samba configuration file. You should read the
# smb.conf(5) manual page in order to understand the options listed
# here. Samba has a huge number of configurable options (perhaps too
# many!) most of which are not shown in this example
#
# Any line which starts with a ; (semi-colon) or a # (hash)
# is a comment and is ignored. In this example we will use a #
# for commentry and a ; for parts of the config file that you
# may wish to enable
#
# NOTE: Whenever you modify this file you should run the command "testparm"
# to check that you have not made any basic syntactic errors.
#
#======================= Global Settings =====================================
[global]

# workgroup = NT-Domain-Name or Workgroup-Name
workgroup = bandrshaw

# server string is the equivalent of the NT Description field
server string = Samba Server

# This option is important for security. It allows you to restrict
# connections to machines which are on your local network. The
# following example restricts access to two C class networks and
# the "loopback" interface. For more examples of the syntax see
# the smb.conf man page
hosts allow = 192.168.123.

# if you want to automatically load your printer list rather
# than setting them up individually then you'll need this
printcap name = /etc/printcap
load printers = yes

# It should not be necessary to spell out the print system type unless
# yours is non-standard. Currently supported print systems include:
# bsd, sysv, plp, lprng, aix, hpux, qnx
printing = lprng

# Uncomment this if you want a guest account, you must add this to /etc/passwd
# otherwise the user "nobody" is used
guest account = guest01

# this tells Samba to use a separate log file for each machine
# that connects
log file = /var/log/samba/%m.log

# Put a capping on the size of the log files (in Kb).
max log size = 250

# Security mode. Most people will want user level security. See
# security_level.txt for details.
security = user

# Use password server option only with security = server
# The argument list may include:
# password server = My_PDC_Name [My_BDC_Name] [My_Next_BDC_Name]
# or to auto-locate the domain controller/s
# password server = *
; password server = <NT-Server-Name>

# Password Level allows matching of _n_ characters of the password for
# all combinations of upper and lower case.
password level = 8
username level = 8

# You may wish to use password encryption. Please read
# ENCRYPTION.txt, Win95.txt and WinNT.txt in the Samba documentation.
# Do not enable this option unless you have read those documents
encrypt passwords = yes
smb passwd file = /etc/samba/smbpasswd

# The following is needed to keep smbclient from spouting spurious errors
# when Samba is built with support for SSL.
ssl CA certFile = /usr/share/ssl/certs/ca-bundle.crt

# The following are needed to allow password changing from Windows to
# update the Linux system password also.
# NOTE: Use these with 'encrypt passwords' and 'smb passwd file' above.
# NOTE2: You do NOT need these to allow workstations to change only
# the encrypted SMB passwords. They allow the Unix password
# to be kept in sync with the SMB password.
unix password sync = Yes
passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u
passwd chat = *New*password* %n\n *Retype*new*password* %n\n *passwd:*all*authentication*tokens*updated*successfully*

# You can use PAM's password change control flag for Samba. If
# enabled, then PAM will be used for password changes when requested
# by an SMB client instead of the program listed in passwd program.
# It should be possible to enable this without changing your passwd
# chat parameter for most setups.

pam password change = yes

# Unix users can map to different SMB User names
; username map = /etc/samba/smbusers

# Using the following line enables you to customise your configuration
# on a per machine basis. The %m gets replaced with the netbios name
# of the machine that is connecting
include = /etc/samba/smb.conf.%m

# This parameter will control whether or not Samba should obey PAM's
# account and session management directives. The default behavior is
# to use PAM for clear text authentication only and to ignore any
# account or session management. Note that Samba always ignores PAM
# for authentication in the case of encrypt passwords = yes

obey pam restrictions = yes

# Most people will find that this option gives better performance.
# See speed.txt and the manual pages for details
socket options = TCP_NODELAY SO_RCVBUF=8192 SO_SNDBUF=8192

# Configure Samba to use multiple interfaces
# If you have multiple network interfaces then you must list them
# here. See the man page for details.
; interfaces = 192.168.12.2/24 192.168.13.2/24

# Configure remote browse list synchronisation here
# request announcement to, or browse list sync from:
# a specific host or from / to a whole subnet (see below)
; remote browse sync = 192.168.3.25 192.168.5.255
# Cause this host to announce itself to local subnets here
remote announce = 192.168.123.148

# Browser Control Options:
# set local master to no if you don't want Samba to become a master
# browser on your network. Otherwise the normal election rules apply
; local master = no

# OS Level determines the precedence of this server in master browser
# elections. The default value should be reasonable
; os level = 33

# Domain Master specifies Samba to be the Domain Master Browser. This
# allows Samba to collate browse lists between subnets. Don't use this
# if you already have a Windows NT domain controller doing this job
domain master = yes

# Preferred Master causes Samba to force a local browser election on startup
# and gives it a slightly higher chance of winning the election
preferred master = yes

# Enable this if you want Samba to be a domain logon server for
# Windows95 workstations.
domain logons = yes

# if you enable domain logons then you may want a per-machine or
# per user logon script
# run a specific logon batch file per workstation (machine)
; logon script = %m.bat
# run a specific logon batch file per username
logon script = %U.bat

# Where to store roving profiles (only for Win95 and WinNT)
# %L substitutes for this servers netbios name, %U is username
# You must uncomment the [Profiles] share below
; logon path = \\%L\Profiles\%U

# Windows Internet Name Serving Support Section:
# WINS Support - Tells the NMBD component of Samba to enable it's WINS Server
wins support = yes

# WINS Server - Tells the NMBD components of Samba to be a WINS Client
# Note: Samba can be either a WINS Server, or a WINS Client, but NOT both
; wins server = w.x.y.z

# WINS Proxy - Tells Samba to answer name resolution queries on
# behalf of a non WINS capable client, for this to work there must be
# at least one WINS Server on the network. The default is NO.
; wins proxy = yes

# DNS Proxy - tells Samba whether or not to try to resolve NetBIOS names
# via DNS nslookups. The built-in default for versions 1.9.17 is yes,
# this has been changed in version 1.9.18 to no.
dns proxy = yes

# Case Preservation can be handy - system default is _no_
# NOTE: These can be set on a per share basis
preserve case = no
; short preserve case = no
# Default case is normally upper case for all DOS files
; default case = lower
# Be very careful with case sensitivity - it can break things!
; case sensitive = no

#============================ Share Definitions ==============================
[homes]
comment = Home Directories
browseable = no
writable = yes
valid users = %S
create mode = 0664
directory mode = 0775
# If you want users samba doesn't recognize to be mapped to a guest user
map to guest = bad user


# Un-comment the following and create the netlogon directory for Domain Logons
; [netlogon]
; comment = Network Logon Service
; path = /usr/local/samba/lib/netlogon
; guest ok = yes
; writable = no
; share modes = no


# Un-comment the following to provide a specific roving profile share
# the default is to use the user's home directory
;[Profiles]
; path = /usr/local/samba/profiles
; browseable = no
; guest ok = yes


# NOTE: If you have a BSD-style print system there is no need to
# specifically define each individual printer
[printers]
comment = All Printers
path = /var/spool/samba
browseable = no
# Set public = yes to allow user 'guest account' to print
guest ok = no
writable = no
printable = yes

# This one is useful for people to share files
[tmp]
comment = Temporary file space
path = /tmp
read only = no
public = yes

# A publicly accessible directory, but read only, except for people in
# the "staff" group
[public]
comment = Public Stuff
path = /home/samba
public = yes
writable = yes
printable = no
write list = @staff

# Other examples.
#
# A private printer, usable only by fred. Spool data will be placed in fred's
# home directory. Note that fred must have write access to the spool directory,
# wherever it is.
;[fredsprn]
; comment = Fred's Printer
; valid users = fred
; path = /home/fred
; printer = freds_printer
; public = no
; writable = no
; printable = yes

# A private directory, usable only by fred. Note that fred requires write
# access to the directory.
;[fredsdir]
; comment = Fred's Service
; path = /usr/somewhere/private
; valid users = fred
; public = no
; writable = yes
; printable = no

# a service which has a different directory for each machine that connects
# this allows you to tailor configurations to incoming machines. You could
# also use the %U option to tailor it by user name.
# The %m gets replaced with the machine name that is connecting.
[pchome]
comment = PC Directories
path = /usr/local/pc/%U
public = no
writable = yes

# A publicly accessible directory, read/write to all users. Note that all files
# created in the directory by users will be owned by the default user, so
# any user with access can delete any other user's files. Obviously this
# directory must be writable by the default user. Another user could of course
# be specified, in which case all files would be owned by that user instead.
[public]
path = /usr/somewhere/else/public
public = yes
only guest = yes
writable = yes
printable = no

# The following two entries demonstrate how to share a directory so that two
# users can place files there that will be owned by the specific users. In this
# setup, the directory should be writable by both users and should have the
# sticky bit set on it to prevent abuse. Obviously this could be extended to
# as many users as required.
;[myshare]
; comment = Mary's and Fred's stuff
; path = /usr/somewhere/shared
; valid users = mary fred
; public = no
; writable = yes
; printable = no
; create mask = 0765
[phoenix]
comment = This directory is shared by the University of Phoenix classmates
path = /home/share/phoenix/
valid users = angela tricia tamara brian
public = no
writable = yes
printable = yes
create mask = 0765

Hello

I also tired to step samba config.

Just check this link,

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...threadid=38392

or

in netowking option.

help me plz....

Hitesh

What do you get if you type "netstat -an" on the server?
and have you tried with the firewall off, "service iptables stop" ?

Ahh ha. I searchedthrough your smb.conf file and I didn't see and entry for the Netbios name. Which is what is needed for the server to be listed in Network Neighborhood. SO add this to the [global] section:

netbios name= BRADSERV


You can change BRADSERV to whatever unique name you want.


--tarballedtux

Thanks, but, I went back to try these suggestions, but my box crashed (I'm on my Windows machine now) and crashed hard. It won't go past an error msg that says it is having problems with an interrupt handler. I'm going to run some diagnostics and see if I had a hardware failure somewhere...

I just ran some basic troubleshooting software on it and it came up with a bad processor. This is very reliable professional testing software I use at work, so I know it's not a fluke. I'll order a new processor today and let you know when it's installed. Thanks everyone for your help so far!

Well, not only was my processor bad, but the system board as well. I replaced both, increased ram by another 128MB, replaced the smaller of the 2 hd's with a 45GB/7200rpm for the primary, and reinstalled RH8 server. However, again it doesn't show up on my network. I'd forgotten about the netbios statement, so I'm going to try that again and see where that gets me...

What's this part in your config?:

hosts allow = 192.168.123.

Are your internal IP's starting with 192.?

Mine are all 10.10.10. something.

Mine conf looks like:

; /etc/smb.conf
;
; Copyright (c) 1999 SuSE GmbH Nuernberg, Germany.
;
workgroup = TUX-NET
server string = mars
map to guest = Bad User
; kernel oplocks = false

workgroup = TUX-NET
server string = mars ;> this would be your "hostname"
map to guest = Bad User
socket options = SO_KEEPALIVE IPTOS_LOWDELAY TCP_NODELAY
character set = ISO8859-15
os level = 2
printing = lprng
veto files = /.AppleDouble/.AppleDesktop/Network Trash Folder/TheVolumeSettingsFolder/Icon?/.Trashes/._.Trashes/:2eDS_Store/.DS_Store/.
directory/*.eml/*.nws/riched20.dll/*.{*}/
security = user
domain master = yes
preferred master = yes

; Uncomment the following, if you want to use an existing
; NT-Server to authenticate users, but don't forget that
; you also have to create them locally!!!
; security = server
; password server = 192.168.1.10
; encrypt passwords = yes

printing = bsd
printcap name = /etc/printcap
load printers = yes

socket options = TCP_NODELAY

map to guest = Bad User

; Uncomment this, if you want to integrate your server
; into an existing net e.g. with NT-WS to prevent nettraffic
; local master = no

; Please uncomment the following entry and replace the
; ip number and netmask with the correct numbers for
; your ethernet interface.
interfaces = 10.10.10.1/255.255.255.0

; If you want Samba to act as a wins server, please set
; 'wins support = yes'
wins support = no

; If you want Samba to use an existing wins server,
; please uncomment the following line and replace
; the dummy with the wins server's ip number.
; wins server = 192.168.1.1

; Do you wan't samba to act as a logon-server for
; your windows 95/98 clients, so uncomment the
; following:
; logon script =%U.bat
; domain logons = yes
; domain master = yes
; [netlogon]
; path = /netlogon

[homes]
comment = Home
browseable = no
read only = no
create mode = 0750
short preserve case = No

[cdrom]
comment = Linux CD-ROM
path = /cdrom
read only = yes
locking = no

[printers]
comment = All Printers
browseable = no
printable = yes
public = no
read only = yes
create mode = 0700
directory = /tmp

[aaa-sites]
comment = AAA-Sites
path = /home/AAA-Sites
read only = No
create mask = 0777
directory mask = 0770
force directory mode = 0770
short preserve case = No

WORKS like a beauty' as well as appletalk for the mac's.

Thanks for the tips. I hadn't realized that "hosts allow =" was not enabled at all. I have enabled it now with 192.168.123. 192.168.1 192.168.2 127.

Should NetBios = be set to the same as my server name or the same as the workgroup it's joining? Right now I have it set to "RH8Server".

Oddly, when I go on my Win98 PC, into Network Neighborhood, and go into Entire Network, it shows just my workgroup. I go into the workgroup and it shows my 2 Windows PC's with their names, but the server shows up as LocalHost rather than the name I gave it. Also, when I try to double-click LocalHost it prompts me for a password but not for a username. Seems wrong. Any thoughts?