Windows file sharing

An application called Samba is used to allow Windows PCs to share files on a Linux server, using the same Server Message Protocol (SMB) as on a Windows network. If you chose to install Samba along with the core RHEL O/S it will be started for you but you still need to specify the folders you want to share and instruct Samba as to how users are to be authenticated.

The latest version of Samba supports both Windows workgroups and domains and can even be configured as a Windows domain controller, with a graphical configuration utility to manage most of the Samba settings in RHEL 4. Other implementations, however, may not have such tools in which case you'll need to locate and edit the text-based configuration file that controls the Samba software.