How to Configure Samba File Sharing on RHEL 9

November 28, 2025
Linux
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Samba implements the SMB/CIFS protocol on Linux, enabling seamless file sharing between RHEL 9 servers and Windows clients — as well as other Linux systems. It is the go-to solution for mixed-OS environments where Windows users need to access Linux-hosted files using the same UNC paths and credential prompts they are accustomed to. On RHEL 9, Samba integrates with firewalld and SELinux and requires a few deliberate configuration steps to work correctly. This tutorial walks through a complete Samba server setup, including SELinux contexts and client access from both Windows and Linux.

Prerequisites

RHEL 9 server with root or sudo access
A Windows or Linux client on the same network
firewalld and SELinux in enforcing mode (default RHEL 9 state)
A local user account to assign Samba credentials to

Step 1 — Install Samba Packages and Create the Share Directory

Install the samba and samba-client packages, then create the directory that will be shared:

# Install Samba
dnf install -y samba samba-client

# Create the shared directory
mkdir -p /srv/samba/share
chmod 0755 /srv/samba/share

# Optionally set a group for shared write access
groupadd sambagroup
chown root:sambagroup /srv/samba/share
chmod 0775 /srv/samba/share

Step 2 — Configure /etc/samba/smb.conf

The main Samba configuration file is /etc/samba/smb.conf. It has a [global] section for server-wide settings and one or more named share sections. Edit the file to define your share:

[global]
    workgroup = WORKGROUP
    server string = RHEL9 Samba Server
    security = user
    passdb backend = tdbsam
    log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m
    max log size = 50
    dns proxy = no

[share]
    comment = Shared Files
    path = /srv/samba/share
    valid users = smbuser
    writable = yes
    browsable = yes
    create mask = 0664
    directory mask = 0775

The valid users directive restricts access to listed users. Replace smbuser with your actual username or a group (prefix with @ for groups, e.g., @sambagroup).

Step 3 — Add a Samba User and Test Configuration

Samba maintains its own password database separate from Linux system passwords. The user must already exist as a Linux system user:

# Create the Linux user if it does not exist
useradd -M -s /sbin/nologin smbuser

# Add to sambagroup if using group-based access
usermod -aG sambagroup smbuser

# Set the Samba password (prompts for password)
smbpasswd -a smbuser

# Enable the Samba account
smbpasswd -e smbuser

# Test the configuration for syntax errors
testparm

testparm parses smb.conf and reports any errors or warnings. Always run it after editing the config file before restarting services.

Step 4 — Set SELinux Context and Open the Firewall

SELinux enforces that Samba can only access directories labeled with the samba_share_t context. Without this, Samba will silently fail to serve files even though permissions look correct:

# Apply the correct SELinux context to the share directory
semanage fcontext -a -t samba_share_t '/srv/samba/share(/.*)?'
restorecon -RFv /srv/samba/share

# Verify context was applied
ls -ldZ /srv/samba/share

# Allow Samba through the firewall
firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=samba
firewall-cmd --reload

If semanage is not available, install it with dnf install -y policycoreutils-python-utils.

Step 5 — Start Samba Services

Samba requires two daemons: smb handles file and print sharing, while nmb handles NetBIOS name resolution for legacy Windows clients:

# Enable and start both Samba daemons
systemctl enable --now smb.service
systemctl enable --now nmb.service

# Confirm they are running
systemctl status smb.service
systemctl status nmb.service

Step 6 — Connect from Windows and Linux Clients

From a Windows client, open File Explorer and enter \192.168.1.100share in the address bar. Enter the Samba username and password when prompted.

From a Linux client, use smbclient to browse or mount with CIFS:

# Install client tools if not present
dnf install -y samba-client cifs-utils

# List shares on the server
smbclient -L //192.168.1.100 -U smbuser

# Connect interactively
smbclient //192.168.1.100/share -U smbuser

# Mount persistently via /etc/fstab
mkdir -p /mnt/samba
echo "//192.168.1.100/share  /mnt/samba  cifs  username=smbuser,password=secret,uid=1000,gid=1000,_netdev  0 0" >> /etc/fstab

# For security, store credentials in a protected file instead
# /etc/samba/credentials.smbuser (chmod 600)
echo "username=smbuser
password=secret" > /etc/samba/credentials.smbuser
chmod 600 /etc/samba/credentials.smbuser

# fstab entry using credentials file
echo "//192.168.1.100/share  /mnt/samba  cifs  credentials=/etc/samba/credentials.smbuser,_netdev  0 0" >> /etc/fstab
mount -a

Conclusion

You have installed and configured Samba on RHEL 9, defined a file share with user-based access control, set the required SELinux context, opened the firewall, and connected to the share from both Windows and Linux clients. The use of a credentials file for CIFS mounts keeps passwords out of /etc/fstab, following security best practices.

Next steps: How to Set Up NFS File Sharing on RHEL 9, How to Configure LVM on RHEL 9, and How to Set Up Software RAID with mdadm on RHEL 9.