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Although Linux is increasingly making inroads into the desktop market, its origins are very much server based. It is not surprising, therefore, that Linux has the ability to act as a file server. Files on a Linux system can be accessed both from other Linux (and UNIX) systems and Windows based systems over network connections.
Remote filesystem access between Linux and UNIX systems is achieved using technology called Network File System (NFS) which is discussed in [[Sharing Ubuntu Linux Folders with Remote Linux and UNIX Systems]]. Windows systems share resources such as filesystems and printers using something called Server Message Block (SMB). In order for a Linux system to serve such resources over a network to a Windows system it must, therefore, support SMB. This is achieved using technology called Samba.
The sharing of Linux folders with Windows based systems is not installed and configured by default on Ubuntu Linux. Fortunately, attempting to share folders will automatically trigger the installation of the appropriate services.
To begin the process of sharing , select the ''System'' desktop menu, and from the ''Administration'' sub-menu select ''Shared Folders''. Enter your password when prompted to do so. If the services necessary for folder sharing are not installed you will be prompted to install them:
[[Image:ubuntu_sharing_services_not_installed.jpg]]
== Sharing Ubuntu Linux Folders ==
Once the Samba File sharing package has been installed the ''Shared Folders'' dialgo dialog will appear. This dialog is used to define which folders may be accessed by remote Windows systems:
[[Image:ubuntu_shared_folders.jpg]]
[[Image:ubuntu_shared_folders_add.jpg]]
This dialog is used to define which folder will be shared. Select from the ''Path:''drop down menu. You can select either a user's directory, the root directy directory (not advised for security reasons) use the ''Other...'' option to browse the file system to find the path you wish to share. Having selected a folder , enter the ''Windows networks (smb)'' for the ''Share through'' option and then provide a resource name by which the folder will be accessed from the Windows system.
Click on ''OK'' when you have configured the information in this dialog and then select the ''General Properties'' of the main ''Shared Folders'' dialog which will display the following options:
[[Image:ubuntu_shared_folders_general.jpg]]
Enter the name of your Windows Workgroup and click on ''Shared Folders'' tab to return to the intial initial screen.
The final step is to configure a password for samba access to your shared folders. From a terminal window, run the following command (where ''username'' is the username you use to log into your Ubuntu system):
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Once completed , the folder you specified will be visible from any Windows systems on the same network (and workgroup specified in the General Properties page) as your Ubuntu Linux system. When prompted on the Windows system for the password to access the resource , enter the password defined using smbpasswd above. You should now have remote access to your Linux folder from the Windows system.
