Network file sharing is governed twice: the service decides who may connect, and the Linux filesystem decides what that connection can actually read or change. This hands-on course makes both layers explicit while comparing NFS for Unix-style mounts with Samba for SMB clients and mixed environments.
You will publish and mount an NFS export, configure guest and authenticated Samba shares, and test them locally with standard clients. The final challenge builds one localhost-restricted NFS project export, a writable public SMB drop-box, and a finance share protected by both identity and owner-only permissions.
What You Will Learn
- Install NFS server and client packages and activate exports with
exportfs - Define NFS client scope and
rw,sync, andno_subtree_checkbehavior - Mount an NFS export, verify the mount, and test read/write access
- Install Samba, inspect
smbdandnmbd, and preserve its base configuration - Configure and test a browsable guest SMB share with
smbclient - Create linked Linux and Samba identities and restrict a private share with
valid users - Align share definitions with ownership and modes such as
777and700
Who This Course Is For
This intermediate course is for Linux administrators, DevOps and networking learners, support engineers, and mixed-environment operators who need to expose shared directories over NFS or SMB. It is especially useful if network access rules and underlying Linux permissions have previously felt like separate, confusing problems.
Prerequisites: Basic Linux terminal, package, service, mount, user, ownership, permission, and sudo skills. Familiarity with client-server networking is helpful.
Learning environment: A Debian/Ubuntu-style LabEx Linux terminal that acts as both local server and client, with NFS utilities, Samba, smbclient, and prepared share directories.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I use NFS instead of Samba?
NFS presents a remote export as part of a Unix-like filesystem tree and is commonly used between Linux or Unix systems. Samba implements SMB and is suited to Windows interoperability and mixed fleets. This course practices both locally so you can compare their configuration and access models.
Are the public-share settings a production security baseline?
No. The guided NFS example permits any client and uses mode 777, while the final public SMB drop-box allows guests to write to a 777 directory. These choices remove permission friction for learning. The final NFS export is restricted to 127.0.0.1, and the finance share demonstrates a safer authenticated, owner-only contrast.
Are the mounts and shares persistent, encrypted, or centrally authenticated?
Server definitions in /etc/exports and smb.conf persist, but the guided NFS client uses a manual mount and does not add an /etc/fstab entry. The course does not configure NFS Kerberos, SMB transport encryption, directory services, quotas, ACLs, or automatic mounts.
