Ubuntu/Samba not showing in Win7 Network Places, but accesable via \\server\sharename

[volkswagner]

You should not rule out Win7 network settings. You did not mention you network/sharing setting on Win7.

I do notice many of your SAMBA settings are changed from default.

I would suggest setting as much back to default that your system would allow. If you can get it to work with defaults, change one item at a time to see what breaks it.


Things that stand out:

Do you have DNS proxy setup? Correctly?

dns proxy = yes

Is your windows box set to the same workgroup?

workgroup = WORKGROUP

This is listed twice and also not the default:

preferred master = yes

Not default

wins support = yes
local master = yes

Do you need both interfaces here? Are they correct?

interfaces = eth0 eth1

I have no issues with the following default config using SMBD version Version 3.4.7 With Win7 client.

[global]

   workgroup = myworkgroup
   netbios name = fileserver
   dns proxy = no
;   name resolve order = bcast host lmhosts wins
   interfaces = eth0
   log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m
   max log size = 1000
   syslog = 0
   panic action = /usr/share/samba/panic-action %d
   security = user
   encrypt passwords = true
   passdb backend = tdbsam
   obey pam restrictions = yes
   unix password sync = yes
   passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u
   passwd chat = *Enter\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *Retype\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *password\supdated\ssuccessfully* .
   pam password change = yes
   map to guest = bad user

[Demented ZA]

Hmmmm, I missed the \\servername\share bit. I stopped at \\ip_address\share.

I have to agree with Morbius1 here. I wonder if the firewall is stopping part of the netbios discovery.

I suppose you and I were both busy editing our posts at the same time, cause that's when I mentioned that I have disabled and cleared the firewall to allow all traffic.

[Demented ZA]

You should not rule out Win7 network settings. You did not mention you network/sharing setting on Win7.

Well both machines are fresh installs, formatted them expressly for this problem before posting here. Both have only the windows firewall, and that is set do allow all traffic. Both PC's have the network chosen as "Work Networks". And then there's the WD TV Live Media player that has NO FIREWALL, connected via cable and has been reset to factory settings.

I do notice many of your SAMBA settings are changed from default.

I would suggest setting as much back to default that your system would allow. If you can get it to work with defaults, change one item at a time to see what breaks it.

That's exactly what I did with the comments earlier, though I had more commented out than that before I came here to post.

Things that stand out:

Do you have DNS proxy setup? Correctly?

dns proxy = yes

Not sure. Nothing changes whether its yes or no. I've commented it out in the meantime to keep it at default.

Is your windows box set to the same workgroup?

workgroup = WORKGROUP

Yup. All are on the "WORKGROUP" workgroup. If I change this, net view gives errors on any of the clients. Otherwise, it works, though not listing the server.

This is listed twice and also not the default:

preferred master = yes

I removed the duplicate line. I assume this should be set to yes, as the server is the master browser here isn't it?

Not default

wins support = yes
local master = yes

Should they be different? According to a lot of guides, they should be set as above.

Do you need both interfaces here? Are they correct?

interfaces = eth0 eth1

Ultimately I'll need both interfaces, but for now I removed eth1 for testing purpose.

I have no issues with the following default config using SMBD version Version 3.4.7 With Win7 client.

I kept feeling like I should just try someone's basic config that's working, but I can't really find a simple working config on the internet. I could only find fragments, and none worked. Thank you for your sample. I'll give it a try. What does your share definitions look like if I may ask?

[Demented ZA]

On a hunch, I set my IP up statically, adding the server as a wins server and forcing Netbios on. Suddenly the server shows up and my media player sees the server as well. I'm also using volkswagner's above config (adapted to my network) so I thought it was that, that solved my problem. When I set my IP settings back to DHCP, I couldn't see the server under net view anymore, nor would my media player.

I suspect now that the problem is with my DHCP server and how it hands out lease information pertaining to WINS. Does this make sense?

With static IP's, this is what ipconfig /all looks like, and this is how its working:

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 6C-F0-49-5E-3E-ED
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.128(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
   Primary WINS Server . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Output of net view:

Server Name            Remark

------------------------------------
\\Windows-PC
\\SERVER                     Samba 3.5.11
The command completed successfully.

Vs. DHCP settings and its not working:

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 6C-F0-49-5E-3E-ED
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.128(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 06 December 2011 11:39:54 AM
   Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 06 December 2011 11:49:54 AM
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
   DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
   Primary WINS Server . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

And then net view:

C:\Users\Demented>net view
There are no entries in the list.

Its clear that when using DHCP, net view can't obtain a list, but with static settings, everything works as expected.

Following is my DHCP configuration file:

use-host-decl-names on;
option netbios-name-servers 192.168.0.1;
ddns-update-style interim;
ignore client-updates;
ddns-rev-domainname "in-addr.arpa.";

option domain-name-servers 192.168.0.1;

default-lease-time 600;
max-lease-time 7200;

authoritative;

log-facility local7;

key DHCPUPD8 {
    algorithm hmac-md5;
    secret MASKED;
    }

zone 0.168.192.in-addr.arpa. {
  primary 127.0.0.1;
  key MASKED;
}


# Local
subnet 192.168.0.0 netmask 255.255.0.0 {
    option netbios-name-servers 192.168.0.1;
    option broadcast-address 255.255.0.0;
    authoritative;
    ddns-updates on;
    range 192.168.0.10 192.168.0.240;
    option routers 192.168.0.1;
    option domain-name-servers 192.168.0.1;
    }

# Windows-PC
host weekwarrior {
    hardware ethernet MASKED;
    fixed-address 192.168.0.127;
    }

[Demented ZA]

I noticed that Static and DHCP differed with only the subnet, allocating 255.255.255.0 and 255.255.0.0 respectively. I corrected my DHCP server to configure clients for 255.255.255.0. Heres my config file:

[global]
option subnet-mask 255.255.255.0;
use-host-decl-names on;
option netbios-name-servers 192.168.0.1;
ddns-update-style interim;
ignore client-updates;
ddns-rev-domainname "in-addr.arpa.";

option domain-name-servers 192.168.0.1;

default-lease-time 600;
max-lease-time 7200;

authoritative;

log-facility local7;

key MASKED {
    algorithm hmac-md5;
    secret MASKED;
    }

zone 0.168.192.in-addr.arpa. {
  primary 127.0.0.1;
  key MASKED;
}


# Local
subnet 192.168.0.0 netmask 255.255.0.0 {
    option netbios-name-servers 192.168.0.1;
    option broadcast-address 255.255.0.0;
    authoritative;
    ddns-updates on;
    range 192.168.0.10 192.168.0.240;
    option routers 192.168.0.1;
    option domain-name-servers 192.168.0.1;
    }

Everything seems to be working now. It doesn't make sense to me that this made the difference, but if it did, you won't see me arguing.

Now I've got a foundation to work from. Thanks for everybody's help!

[Demented ZA]

Just to confirm, the problem was with my DHCP server all along.

I restored my entire Ubuntu server to a previous backup, and only kept the new DHCP configuration. Immediately after renewing client leases, my server was visible under my network places.

Something so seemingly unrelated.

Also, I discovered Swat for Samba which is a web based Samba server administration tool. Very handy as it neatly explains all the options. Really helps getting some semblance of Samba and its configuration options.

Hope the above will help others!

[DUCKFACE]

same problem here !
Can't see samba server in Microsoft windows network!
ubuntu version 12.04


samba conf:
[global]
display charset = cp1251
passwd chat debug = yes
name resolve order = wins bcast hosts
idmap gid = 15000-20000
passwd chat = *Enter\snew\sUNIX\spassword:* %n\n *Retype\snew\sUNIX\spassword:* %n\n *password\supdated\ssuccessfully* .
time server = yes
hosts allow = 192.168.0., 127.0.0.1/255.255.255.0
passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u
netbios name = SERVER
printing = CUPS
idmap uid = 15000-20000
logon script = login.bat
dos charset = cp1251
workgroup = EXPERT2002
os level = 64
printcap name = CUPS
security = user
add machine script = sudo /usr/sbin/useradd -n -g machines -c Machine -d /var/lib/samba -s /bin/false %u
delete user script = /usr/sbin/userdel -r %u
max log size = 1000
log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m
load printers = yes
smb passwd file = /etc/samba/smbpasswd
add group script = /usr/sbin/groupadd %g
socket options = TCP_NODELAY
delete group script = /usr/sbin/groupdel %g
add user to group script = /usr/sbin/usernod -G %g %u
logon drive = H:
guest ok = no
interfaces = 127.0.0.1/255.0.0.0 192.168.0.1/254.255.255.0 eth1
username map = /etc/samba/smbusers
encrypt passwords = true
passdb backend = tdbsam
logon home = \\%N\%U
template shell = /bin/bash
wins support = yes
unix password sync = yes
logon path = \\%N\%U\
add user script = /usr/sbin/useradd -m '%u' -g users -G users
syslog = 3
preferred master = yes
panic action = /usr/share/samba/panic-action %d
unix charset = utf8
domain logons = yes
server string = %h (Samba, Ubuntu)

#### Networking ####

#### Debugging/Accounting ####

####### Authentication #######
# sync smb passwords woth linux passwords

########## Domains ###########
#logon path = \\%L\profiles\%U
#logon home = \\%L\%U


########## Printing ##########

#======================= Share Definitions =======================
#======================= Global Sharing START ======================

[printers]
comment = All Printers
path = /var/spool/samba
printable = yes
public = no
writable = no
create mode = 0700

[print$]
comment = Printer Drivers
path = /var/lib/samba/printers
browseable = yes
read only = yes
guest ok = no
write list = root, @smbadmin

[netlogon]
comment = Network Logon Service
path = /home/samba/netlogon
#path = /media/externalHDD/documents
admin users = Administrator
valid users = %U
read only = yes
guest ok = yes
#browseable = no
writable = no
share modes = no

[homes]
comment = Home Directories
browseable = no
read only = no
create mask = 0700
directory mask = 0700
valid users = %S

[Profiles]
comment = User profile
path = /home/%U
valid users = %U
writeable = yes
browseable = no
create mask = 0600
directory mask = 0700
nt acl support = yes
profile acls = yes

#======================= Global Sharing END ======================

[Apis6]
comment = Apis 6
path = /media/externalHDD/apis6
writable = yes
create mask = 0660
directory mask = 0770
force group = users
valid users = @users

[Rankom]
comment = Rankom software
path = /media/externalHDD/rankom
writable = yes
create mask = 0660
directory mask = 0770
force group = users
valid users = @users

[Documents]
comment = Shared documents
path = /media/externalHDD/documents
writable = yes
create mask = 0660
directory mask = 0770
force group = users
valid users = @users

[Archive]
comment = Archive
path = /media/externalHDD/archive
writable = yes
create mask = 0660
directory mask = 0770
force group = users
valid users = @users
veto files = /*.exe/*.com/*.dll/*.bat/*.pif/


i can't see Samba server from my network in Windows XP

pgrep -l mbd

26935 nmbd
26936 nmbd
26940 nmbd
26950 nmbd
26957 nmbd
26964 nmbd
26971 nmbd
26978 nmbd
26985 nmbd
26992 nmbd
26999 nmbd
27006 nmbd
27013 nmbd
27020 nmbd
29238 smbd
29240 smbd
29253 nmbd
29261 nmbd
29269 nmbd
29277 nmbd
29285 nmbd
29293 nmbd
29301 nmbd
29309 nmbd
29317 nmbd
29325 nmbd
29333 nmbd
29353 nmbd
29361 nmbd
29369 nmbd
29377 nmbd
29385 nmbd
29393 nmbd
29402 nmbd
29410 nmbd
29418 nmbd
29426 nmbd
29434 nmbd

testparm

Load smb config files from /etc/samba/smb.conf
rlimit_max: increasing rlimit_max (1024) to minimum Windows limit (16384)
WARNING: The "idmap gid" option is deprecated
WARNING: The "idmap uid" option is deprecated
Processing section "[printers]"
Processing section "[print$]"
Processing section "[netlogon]"
WARNING: The "share modes" option is deprecated
Processing section "[homes]"
Processing section "[Profiles]"
Processing section "[Apis6]"
Processing section "[Rankom]"
Processing section "[Documents]"
Processing section "[Archive]"
Loaded services file OK.
Server role: ROLE_DOMAIN_PDC

netstat -tunap | grep mbd

tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:139 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN 30997/smbd
tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:445 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN 30997/smbd
udp 0 0 192.168.1.255:137 0.0.0.0:* 26935/nmbd
udp 0 0 192.168.1.2:137 0.0.0.0:* 26935/nmbd
udp 0 0 10.8.0.255:137 0.0.0.0:* 26935/nmbd
udp 0 0 10.8.0.1:137 0.0.0.0:* 26935/nmbd
udp 0 0 0.0.0.0:137 0.0.0.0:* 26935/nmbd
udp 0 0 192.168.1.255:138 0.0.0.0:* 26935/nmbd
udp 0 0 192.168.1.2:138 0.0.0.0:* 26935/nmbd
udp 0 0 10.8.0.255:138 0.0.0.0:* 26935/nmbd
udp 0 0 10.8.0.1:138 0.0.0.0:* 26935/nmbd
udp 0 0 0.0.0.0:138 0.0.0.0:* 26935/nmbd

[DUCKFACE]

noone around ?

[bearsinthesea]

Just to confirm, the problem was with my DHCP server all along.

I restored my entire Ubuntu server to a previous backup, and only kept the new DHCP configuration. Immediately after renewing client leases, my server was visible under my network places.

Something so seemingly unrelated.

Also, I discovered Swat for Samba which is a web based Samba server administration tool. Very handy as it neatly explains all the options. Really helps getting some semblance of Samba and its configuration options.

Hope the above will help others!

This solved my problem, thank you so much for sharing, here I will do the same. But it was not DHCP. My ubuntu server was not showing up in Network Places or Network Neighborhood on my Windows 7 machine. It was not becoming the broswer master for the workgroup. I checked my other systems using smbclient, and they did not see the new machine (Greta). But when I checked using smbclient -L localhost on Greta, it said it was the Master Browser.

Finally, I looked again comparing the output of ifconfig on my two linux machines. one had a netmask of 255.255.0.0, and teh other 255.255.255.0. They should both be 255.255.255.0, so I changed that using NetworkManager, which required a reboot. Now it works. Apparently the tcp/ip connections were more forgiving, ssh, web browsing, everythign worked with the mismatched netmasks, except the SMB protocols.