Hey I need a good guide on how to make a debian file server because all of the tutorials I can find don't work



Thanks,
Lukas

I use a Debian file server in my home network, using Samba, because we have both Windows and Linux computers.

I don't know what you've tried, but you need to have samba server installed and configured to start at boot (I think that, when you install it, Debian assumes that you want it to run at boot or you wouldn't have installed it--it's been a long time, but I think that's how it happened; I don't recall having to do any additional configuration). This command will tell you whether it's running:

Then there are three steps:

1. Pick the directories that you want to be shared and configure them in the directory settings to be shared with the proper read/write permissions for user, group, and others. In most cases, the shares reside in someone's (not root's) home directory. On my file server, one is there and the others reside on an external USB hard drive which is configured in /etc/fstab to mount (by UUID so the directories are always located in the same cyber-place) at boot.

2. Configure your sharing in the Samba configuration file (normally /etc/samba/smb.conf). (Note: if you have problems with smb.conf and wish to post it here for comments, please post on the relevant stuff and not all the stuff that has been remarked out!) In case it helps, here's a bit from my own smb.conf:

3. Add user accounts to samba via the smbpasswd command. The user accounts must exist in Linux before they can be added to your Samba smbpasswd file.

I suggest that you consult Samba by Example (also available as a PDF here). It starts with very simple shares and progresses to extremely complex ones, with examples of the proper configuration for each one. I found an example that worked for me by about page 20.

Thanks for your detailed information I'll try that tomorrow (I have tons of work to do) and reply back what happens.