OpenMediaVault is a free, powerful and rich features distribution based on Debian. It has many features you need to power up your network with various services such as Samba server, NFS Server, FTP Server and some more. Actually, it supports iSCSI Server by installing a third party plugin, but some users reported that this plugin is not working properly.
OpenMediaVault is very easy to install and configure. It comes with a nice web based GUI for server administration. The new version of OpenMediaVault 3.0.82 that can be downloaded from this link. Here, I will show you how to create a Samba server using OpenMediaVault. Before we proceed, you will need to install OpenMediaVault first. Please read this post if you need assist in installing OMV.
Steps to create Samba server using OpenMediaVault
Step 1. Add new hard disk to OpenMediaVault
It is recommended to add at least one more hard drive to OMV. This disk will be used for data storage, Samba shared folder storage and many others. Please read this post if you need guidance to add new hard disk on OpenMediaVault.
Step 2. Create new filesystem
We need to create filesystem to the new hard disk. Navigate to Storage section and click Create button. Select the hard disk from the Device list, add new label and select Filesystem from the list. For example EXT4 as follow.
After we created new filesystem, don't forget to mount it.
At this point, our new hard drive is ready. You can add more disks to OMV server and do the tasks again.
Step 3. Create new User and Group
We need to setup a new group and new user on OMV Server. Go to Group and create a new one. Enter the required fields such as Name and Comment as follow.
To create new user, click Add from the User page.
At this point, we've configure User and Group for Samba access.
Step 4. Configure SMB/CIFS Service
Now we are ready to configure the Samba Service. Click SMB/CIFS Service from the Services list. Change the following with your own:
- Workgroup: UBUNTUSCAPE
- Local master browser: ENABLE
- Browseable: ENABLE
Now Enable the service. Now it should looks like this
Step 6. Create new Share
From the SMB/CIFS section, click Shares and then click Add to create new share folder. Click + button on the Shared folder to create a new shared folder.
Click Save and the configuration is now completed. Now you should see the new shares listed:
Now we can try to open the new shared folder from other computer. For example I am opening it from a Windows 10 machine.
Type the IP address of the OMV Server on the Windows explorer with the following format:
Change the IP address with your OMV Server
Thank you for reading this how to configure samba server on OpenMediaVault.