When I first started using Linux (OpenSuSE 10.2), I spent a while trying to figure out how to share a folder on it with my Windows machine and vice versa. I found plenty of information through Google, but none of it was in one place. I figure it would be a great idea to put that information in one place for anyone else that wanted to set up a Samba share.

First thing you need to do is activate the Samba server on your Linux machine. It’s an easy process but you will need the root password. Open up YaST and click on Network Services in the left side. In the NetworkServices window, click on the Samba Server icon. You will now have the Samba Configuration window open and it should be on the Start Up tab:

You will want to select the way you want Samba server to boot up. I set mine to “During Boot” but you have the option to select “Manual.” You will also want to open the port in the firewall as well.

Next go to the Identity tab. You will want to enter in the workgroup your other computers are on. Mine were the default Windows “WORKGROUP.” You can also set it up to work on a Domain Controller, but I’m not 100% sure on how that works since I don’t run a DC in my house.

Once you’ve set your workgroup or domain, go to the “Shares” tab. You will be able to manage all the Samba shares here. To add a share, click the “Add” button and you’ll get the “New Share” window. Fill in the “Share Name” and the “Share Description” here. Also set the path to the directory you are sharing here. You are also able to set the share to read only here. This is also how you would share a printer.

Once you’ve filled in all the new share information, clickt he OK button at the bottom right and you will come back to the Shares tab of the Samba Configuration window. Add any more shares that you want and then click the Finish button at the bottom right. It will save all the changes and you will then be able to open your shared folders from another computer:

One of the problems with people like me is I don’t remember to turn things in. I’ll finish the assignment a few days early and then I’ll start working on something else. The next week, someone asks what I got on said assignment and I remember…I never turned it in! This will all change at the end of this quarter. Our group is creating two things:

1. A module that can be used by anyone to create applications that can securely access Neumont’s Learning Management System (LMS), called RemoteLMS.
2. An application that a student can install on their computer that will use pop-up notifications from the system tray that tell the students when assignments have been graded or a teacher has posted lecture notes to the LMS and many other types of notifications, called DesktopLMS.

DLMS will allow for students to receive text messages and email alerts as well for due dates. A student will be allowed to tell the system to send them a text message 2 hours before the assignment is due.

We are hoping this project is something that everyone at Neumont will find useful. We are also planning on keeping it an open project on Sourceforge so other’s can help us add onto it after the initial application has been released. This is a project we all see continuing after the quarter is over.

So I caved and I’m writing a blog now . I figured I could post all the cool stuff I find for my various software and web projects here to make it a bit easier for others to find answers to their questions. It’s sucked having to search Google for 30 minutes to find answers for what seemed to be little things.

So a little about me…my name is Mike Gromer and I go to school at Neumont University. It’s a fast-paced computer science school that puts a lot of emphasis on working on projects with teams. It’s been here in Salt Lake for a few years now and the graduates have had enormous success in the field. Luckily, Neumont is partnered up with companies like Microsoft and IBM which helps keep the school technologically superior to many other school. I was in CS at the University of Texas and in my first quarter at Neumont, I had learned more than in 3 semesters at UT.

Hopefully I will stay up to date and keep my blog up to date. Like I said, my goal is to keep an easy to access list of coding tricks so people don’t have to search hard like I did. Have a good one!