Samba Services

The Samba server consists of the following important services:

smb Service

The smb service makes file sharing and printing services available using the SMB protocol. This service is also responsible for resource locking and for authenticating connecting users.

The smb systemd service starts and stops the smbd daemon. The following is an example command:

sudo systemctl start smb.service

To use the smbd service, you need to install the samba package on the system.

nmb Service

The nmb (NetBIOS Message Block) service provides host name and IP resolution by using the NetBIOS over IPv4 protocol. The nmb service can also browse the SMB network for domains, workgroups, hosts, file shares, and printers.

The nmb systemd service starts and stops the nmbd daemon. The following is an example command:

sudo systemctl start nmb.service

To use the nmbd service, you need to install the samba package on the system.

winbind Service

The winbind service is a Name Service Switch (NSS) daemon for resolving AD Users and Groups. The daemon lets AD Users securely access services that are hosted on the Samba server.

The winbind systemd service starts and stops the winbindd daemon. The following is an example command:

sudo systemctl start winbind.service

To use the winbindd service, install the samba-winbind package.

Note:

If you're setting up Samba as a domain member, you must start the winbind service before starting the smb service. This makes domain users and groups available to the local system.