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Installing and Configuring Samba on Ubuntu 22.04

Installing and Configuring Samba on Ubuntu 22.04
Hostman Team
Technical writer
Ubuntu
04.07.2025
Reading time: 7 min

Let’s look at the process of installing Samba software on a cloud server with the Ubuntu 22.04 operating system. This guide is also suitable for installing Samba on Debian. Let’s start with a brief description of this software.

What is Samba

Samba is a software package developed to provide compatibility and interaction between UNIX-like systems and Windows. The software has been distributed under a free license for over 30 years. Samba ensures seamless integration of servers and PCs running UNIX into an AD (Active Directory) system. This software can be used as a controller and as a standard component of a domain. Thus, users can flexibly configure cloud file storages. Samba provides extensive functionality for managing file and database access rights by assigning specific user groups.

Creating a New Server

Go to the control panel and create a new server. 

Select the Ubuntu 22.04 image and then the minimum server configuration. 

After creating the server, connect to it via SSH, and you can begin configuration.

Adding a User

This is simple — enter the command:

sudo useradd -p new_server_pass new_server_user

Instead of new_server_pass and new_server_user, you can use any password and any username. Enter your own data instead of the example ones. Note that we immediately set the password, which was possible thanks to the -p command.

Installing Samba on Ubuntu

For convenience, we have broken the installation process into separate steps.

Step 1. Preparation

To start the installation process, use the following command:

sudo apt install samba -y

Now you need to remember the system name of the service. In most cases, it is smbd. Therefore, if you want to call the service, use this name.

First, let’s configure autostart, which is done with the command:

sudo systemctl enable smbd

Now start it using the familiar command:

sudo systemctl start smbd

Then check the system status using:

sudo systemctl status smbd

To stop Samba, use:

sudo systemctl stop smbd

To restart the service, enter:

sudo systemctl restart smbd

If you want Samba to no longer start automatically, use the command:

sudo systemctl disable smbd

The reload command is used to refresh the configuration.

The following command will forcibly open port 445, as well as 137–139. To allow them in the ufw firewall, use:

sudo ufw allow Samba

Step 2. Configuring Anonymous Access

Suppose you have some remote server located outside your cloud. Network security rules require that you never open direct access to it through its IP. You can only do this through a tunnel, which is already set up. Typically, servers with granted access have the address 10.8.0.1, and this is the address we will use further.

To share data and grant anonymous access to it, first open the configuration file. It is located here: /etc/samba/smb.conf. We recommend making a backup of the clean file — this will help you quickly restore the original program state without needing to reinstall. Now remove all comments, leaving only the code, and enter the command testparm to ensure the program works properly. In the shared folder settings, enter the following parameters:

[share]
    comment = share
    path = /data/public_share
    public = yes
    writable = yes
    read only = no
    guest ok = yes

Also, make sure that the following four fields (mask and mode) have matching numeric values (for example, 0777).

Regarding the specific lines:

  • [share] — the name of the shared folder, which will be visible to everyone connecting to your server;
  • comment — a comment that can be anything;
  • path — the path to the data storage folder;
  • public — gives permission for public access: if you do not want users to view the folder contents, set this to no;
  • writable — determines whether data can be written to the folder;
  • read only — specifies that the folder is read-only: to allow users to create new files, set it to no;
  • guest ok — determines whether guests can access the folder.

Thus, the folder name and path may differ depending on what values you specify for the shared folder. The comment can also be anything, and for the last four parameters, values are set as yes or no. Now restart the program and check if you can connect to the server from Windows.

Step 3. Configuring Access by User Credentials

To create access by login and password, you first need to create a new directory and configure permissions. In the configuration file, set all parameters to no (see above), except writable: in this line, the value should be yes, meaning that writing in the folder should be enabled.

Use the mkdir command to create a new directory, then create a user with useradd someone (where someone can be any username) and set a password for them with the command passwd. For example:

passwd something

Now, with the command below, add the new user and try to log in: if everything is configured correctly, you will have access to the folder.

sudo smbpasswd -a someone

Step 4. Configuring Group Access

Configuring group access is necessary when you need to create restricted access for specific user groups. In smb.conf, after the line guest ok, additionally specify the following lines (all usernames here are generated simply for example):

valid users = admin, mary_smith, jane_jameson, maria ortega, nathalie_brown
write list = admin, nathalie_brown

In the valid users line, list the users who are granted access to the directory. And in the write list, list those who can modify data in the folder.

In addition, after the force directory mode line, add another line with the following value:

inherit owner = yes

This enables inheritance of created objects. Now save the settings and restart the service, after which the new settings should take effect.

Step 5. Connecting to Samba from Windows and Linux

For quick connection to Samba from Windows, press Ctrl+E and enter the path. Note that you need to use \\ to indicate the network path to the resource. And to avoid reconnecting to the server each time, you can choose the option to connect the resource as a drive, if your security policy allows it. In the new window, specify the drive letter and fill in the required data.

For connecting to Samba from Linux, you use the cifs utilities, which are installed with the command:

sudo apt install cifs-utils -y

Next, the resource is mounted and connected. This is done with:

sudo mount.cifs //10.8.0.1/our_share /share

The path and resource name can be anything. You can also perform automatic mounting using the configuration file fstab with its own settings.

Step 6. Configuring the Network Trash Bin

This operation is needed to avoid accidental permanent deletion of files. For this, create the following directory:

[Recycle]
    comment = Trash for temporary file storage
    path = /directory/recycle
    public = yes
    browseable = yes
    writable = yes
    vfs objects = recycle
    recycle:repository = .recycle/%U
    recycle:keeptree = Yes
    recycle:touch = Yes
    recycle:versions = Yes
    recycle:maxsize = 0
    recycle:exclude = *.tmp, ~$*
    recycle:exclude_dir = /tmp

Now, let’s review line by line what these parameters mean:

  • vfs objects = recycle — indicates use of the corresponding subsystem;
  • repository — the path for storing deleted data;
  • keeptree — whether to keep the directory tree after deletion;
  • touch — whether to change the timestamps of files when they are moved to the trash;
  • versions — whether to assign a version number if files with identical names are deleted;
  • maxsize — the maximum size of a file placed in the trash. A value of 0 disables limits;
  • exclude — which file types to exclude;
  • exclude_dir — which directories to exclude.

Conclusion

That’s it — now you know how to install Samba on an Ubuntu cloud server and configure it for your own needs.

Ubuntu
04.07.2025
Reading time: 7 min

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WordPress is a simple, popular, open-source, and free CMS (content management system) for creating modern websites. Today, WordPress powers nearly half of the websites worldwide. Hostman offers Wordpress cloud hosting with quick load times, robust security, and simplified management.  However, having just a content management system is not enough. Modern websites require an SSL certificate, which provides encryption and allows using a secure HTTPS connection. This short guide will show how to install WordPress on a cloud server, perform initial CMS configuration, and add an SSL certificate to the completed site, enabling users to access the website via HTTPS. The Nginx web server will receive user requests and then proxied to WordPress for processing and generating response content. A few additional components are also needed: a MySQL database, which serves as the primary data storage in WordPress, and PHP, which WordPress is written in. 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16 June 2025 · 13 min to read
Ubuntu

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Root or Sudo Access for Setup To install and configure the server, administrative (root) privileges are required. Users must either have sudo access or be logged in as root. Without these privileges, the setup process cannot proceed. Internet Connection for Package Download A stable internet connection is necessary to install the OpenSSH server and any additional related packages. Without a functional connection, the system cannot retrieve the required software components. Configuring Firewall for Access If a firewall, like ufw, is enabled on the system, it may block remote access by default. It is essential to configure your firewall to allow incoming connections. Use ufw or another firewall tool to ensure port 22 is open and accessible. Access to the System (Local or Remote) You need physical access to your machine to configure the service locally, or it must be remotely accessible via its IP address. Ensure the system is properly connected to the network to establish a connection. Don't forget, that you can deploy your cloud server fast and cheap by choosing our VPS Server Hosting Step 1: Prepare Ubuntu The first thing you need to do before you start installing SSH on Ubuntu is to update all apt packages to the latest versions. To do this, use the following command: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade Step 2: Install SSH on Ubuntu OpenSSH is not pre-installed on the system, so let's install it manually. To do this, type in the terminal: sudo apt install openssh-server The installation of all the necessary components will begin. Answer "Yes" to all the system prompts.  After the installation is complete, go to the next step to start the service. Step 3: Start SSH Now you need to enable the service you just installed using the command below: sudo systemctl enable --now ssh On successful startup, you will see the following system message. The --now key helps you launch the service and simultaneously set it to start when the system boots. To verify that the service is enabled and running successfully, type: sudo systemctl status ssh The output should contain the Active: active (running) line, which indicates that the service is successfully running. If you want to disable the service, execute:  sudo systemctl disable ssh It disables the service and prevents it from starting at boot. Step 4: Configure the firewall Before connecting to the server via SSH, check the firewall to ensure it is configured correctly. In our case, we have the UFW installed, so we will use the following command: sudo ufw status In the output, you should see that SSH traffic is allowed. If you don't have it listed, you need to allow incoming SSH connections. This command will help with this: sudo ufw allow ssh Step 5: Connect to the server Once you complete all the previous steps, you can log into the server using the SSH protocol. To do this, you will need the server's IP address or domain name and the name of a user created on the server. In the terminal line, enter the command: ssh username@IP_address Or:  ssh username@domain Important: To successfully connect to a remote server, SSH must be installed and configured on the remote server and the user's computer from which you make the connection.  - Step 6 (optional): Create Key Pair for Secure Authentication For enhanced security, consider configuring a key pair instead of relying on password authentication. To generate one, use the following command: ssh-keygen Step 7: Configure SSH Having completed the previous five steps, you can already connect to the server remotely. However, you can further increase the connection's security by changing the default connection port to another or changing the password authentication to key authentication. These and other changes require editing the SSH configuration file. The main OpenSSH server settings are stored in the main configuration file sshd_config (location: /etc/ssh). Before you start editing, you should create a backup of this file:  sudo cp /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config.initial If you get any errors after editing the configuration file, you can restore the original file without problems. After creating the backup, you can proceed to edit the configuration file. To do this, open it using the nano editor: sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config In the file, change the port to a more secure one. It is best to set values from the dynamic range of ports (49152 - 65535) and use different numbers for additional security. For example, let's change the port value to 49532. To do this, we uncomment the corresponding line in the file and change the port as shown in the screenshot below. In addition to this setting, we recommend changing the password authentication mode to a more secure key authentication mode. To do this, uncomment the corresponding line and make sure the value is "Yes", as shown in the screenshot. Now, let's prohibit logging on to the server as a superuser by changing the corresponding line as shown in the picture below. There are other settings you can configure to increase the server security:  UseDNS checks if the hostname matches its IP address. The value "Yes" enables this parameter. PermitEmptyPasswords prohibits using empty passwords for authentication if the value is "No." MaxAuthTries limits the number of unsuccessful attempts to connect to the server within one communication session.  AllowUsers and AllowGroups are responsible for the list of users and groups allowed to access the server: # AllowUsers User1, User2, User3# AllowGroups Group1, Group2, Group3 Login GraceTime sets the time provided for successful authorization. We recommend reducing the value of this parameter by four times. ClientAliveInterval limits the time of user inactivity. After exceeding the specified limit, the user is disconnected. After making all the changes in the main configuration file, save them and close the editor.  Restart the service to make the changes take effect: sudo systemctl restart ssh If you have changed the port in the configuration file, you should connect using the new port:  ssh -p port_number username@IP_address Or: ssh -p port_number_port_username@domain Troubleshooting Connection Issues Ensure the service is running with: sudo systemctl status ssh Restart it if necessary: sudo systemctl restart ssh Check firewall settings to allow traffic on port 22: sudo ufw allow 22 Confirm the system is reachable by running: ping <server-ip-address> Disabling the Service If you need to disable remote access for any reason, follow these steps: Stop the Service To temporarily stop accepting connections: sudo systemctl stop ssh Prevent Automatic Startup To disable it from starting on reboot: sudo systemctl disable ssh Confirm Inactive Status Verify that the service is no longer running: sudo systemctl status ssh Uninstall the Server If the service is no longer needed, remove it and its associated configuration files: sudo apt remove openssh-server Conclusion This article presents a step-by-step guide on installing and configuring SSH in Ubuntu 22.04 and describes how to edit the main configuration file to improve security. We hope this guide helps you to set up a secure remote connection to your Ubuntu server.To see more about SSH keys click here.
05 June 2025 · 7 min to read

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