Samba Daemons; Connecting To A Samba Share - Red Hat ENTERPRISE LINUX 5 - DEPLOYMENT Deployment Manual

Chapter 20. Samba

20.2.1. Samba Daemons

Samba is comprised of three daemons (smbd, nmbd, and winbindd). Two services (smb and
windbind) control how the daemons are started, stopped, and other service-related features. Each
daemon is listed in detail, as well as which specific service has control over it.
smbd
The smbd server daemon provides file sharing and printing services to Windows clients. In addition, it
is responsible for user authentication, resource locking, and data sharing through the SMB protocol.
The default ports on which the server listens for SMB traffic are TCP ports 139 and 445.
The smbd daemon is controlled by the smb service.
nmbd
The nmbd server daemon understands and replies to NetBIOS name service requests such as
those produced by SMB/CIFS in Windows-based systems. These systems include Windows 95/98/
ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and LanManager clients. It also participates in the
browsing protocols that make up the Windows Network Neighborhood view. The default port that the
server listens to for NMB traffic is UDP port 137.
The nmbd daemon is controlled by the smb service.
winbindd
The winbind service resolves user and group information on a server running Windows NT 2000
or Windows Server 2003. This makes Windows user / group information understandable by UNIX
platforms. This is achieved by using Microsoft RPC calls, Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM),
and the Name Service Switch (NSS). This allows Windows NT domain users to appear and operate as
UNIX users on a UNIX machine. Though bundled with the Samba distribution, the winbind service is
controlled separately from the smb service.
The winbindd daemon is controlled by the winbind service and does not require the smb service
to be started in order to operate. Winbindd is also used when Samba is an Active Directory member,
and may also be used on a Samba domain controller (to implement nested groups and/or interdomain
trust). Because winbind is a client-side service used to connect to Windows NT-based servers,
further discussion of winbind is beyond the scope of this manual.
Note
You may refer to
included in the Samba distribution.

20.3. Connecting to a Samba Share

You can use Nautilus to view available Samba shares on your network. Select Places (on the Panel)
> Network Servers to view a list of Samba workgroups on your network. You can also type smb: in
the File > Open Location bar of Nautilus to view the workgroups.
Figure 20.1, "SMB Workgroups in
As shown in
workgroup on the network.
266
Section 20.11, "Samba Distribution Programs"
Nautilus", an icon appears for each available SMB
for a list of utilities