On Saturday 04 January 2003 3:54 am, FX Fraipont wrote:
I know this question has already been asked a zillion times, but I have done my homework (Teach yourself samba in x hours + newsgoup search + web search) and I have not been able to solve the problem.
Setup: Suse 8.1 samba server smb - nmb running
which version of samba? [just curious -- shouldn't matter, but later versions have "more features"...]
4 win98 boxes
any of them "NT" [and then, "workstation" vs. "server"?] [...]
No wins server
trivial question: why not? [as in, "why not make the linux box the wins server?"] without a "wins" server, systems that do not "broadcast" the fact that they exist must be included in the "lmhosts" file of /every client/ that expects to "see" them "in the neighborhood" [this might give you an inkling as to what the problem may be, but read on...] [...]
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, and best samba wishes for 2003.
[snipping shares & most-likely-unrelated options]
[global]
workgroup = WORKGROUP server string = Vertigo Samba Server security = user local master = yes os level = 33 domain master = no preferred master = yes wins support = no
From the "man smb.conf" pages: <take a deep breath> domain master (G) Tell nmbd(8)to enable WAN-wide browse list collation. Set ting this option causes nmbd to claim a special domain spe cific NetBIOS name that identifies it as a domain master browser for its given workgroup. Local master browsers in the same workgroup on broadcast-isolated subnets will give this nmbd their local browse lists, and then ask smbd(8) for a complete copy of the browse list for the whole wide area network. Browser clients will then contact their local master browser, and will receive the domain-wide browse list, instead of just the list for their broadcast-isolated subnet. Note that Windows NT Primary Domain Controllers expect to be able to claim this workgroup specific special NetBIOS name that identifies them as domain master browsers for that workgroup by default (i.e. there is no way to prevent a Windows NT PDC from attempting to do this). This means that if this parameter is set and nmbd claims the special name for a workgroup before a Windows NT PDC is able to do so then cross subnet browsing will behave strangely and may fail. If domain logons = yes , then the default behavior is to enable the domain master parameter. If domain logons is not enabled (the default setting), then neither will domain master be enabled by default. Default: domain master = auto OK, what this is saying: windows's "network neighborhood" works like this: every computer regularly "broadcasts" a message to the effect, "hi, I'm a dos/windows machine on this network, I'm offering the following 'services', please remember me; if not, I'll tell you again in 15 seconds" [or maybe it is 5 seconds -- for fun and giggles, hook up a dozen windows computers to a switch and leave them all "idle" -- watch for "broadcast storms"] Every OTHER computer in the network is supposed to grab that information and note it down somewhere. Linux does this [via nmdb] and you'll see files under /var/lib/samba that reflect the data gathered [browse.dat / wins.dat] local master (G) This option allows nmbd(8)to try and become a local master browser on a subnet. If set to false then nmbd will not attempt to become a local master browser on a subnet and will also lose in all browsing elections. By default this value is set to true. Setting this value to true doesn't mean that Samba will become the local master browser on a subnet, just that nmbd will participate in elections for local master browser. Setting this value to false will cause nmbd never to become a local master browser. Default: local master = yes check the file /var/log/samba/<anything to do with 'nmbd'> This will have lines in it indicating when a "browse master election" occurs. Your computer will try to become "the master", yet will abstain from attempting to be the "domain" master [actually, re-reading these two items myself helps makes sense to me -- at first it didn't...] Does it "win" these elections? After the system has been running for a while, what information appears in the /var/lib/samba/browse.dat file? netbios name (G) This sets the NetBIOS name by which a Samba server is known. By default it is the same as the first component of the host's DNS name. If a machine is a browse server or logon server this name (or the first component of the hosts DNS name) will be the name that these services are adver tised under. netbios aliases (G) This is a list of NetBIOS names that nmbd(8)will advertise as additional names by which the Samba server is known. This allows one machine to appear in browse lists under multiple names. If a machine is acting as a browse server or logon server none of these names will be advertised as either browse server or logon servers, only the primary name of the machine will be advertised with these capabili ties.