Tip for Samba-Enabling an OES2 Linux NSS Volume….

As a consultant in the Novell-related side of things, I have configured a handful of OES2 Linux servers to be Samba-aware for the end-users.  But for some reason, I always forget one particular step.  And I figured that if I wrote a post about it, it would make me remember.  Think it will work?  Only time will tell….

Anyway, the general steps to samba-enabling an OES2 user is like this:

  • Create an NSS volume if you didn’t already
  • Configure Universal Password for the users/containers that need to use Samba
  • Configure that NSS volume for Samba if you haven’t already (shares and users)

…okay, that’s easy enough.  But the step I always forget happens only when I’m in a hurry, and am just enabling Universal Password with the defaults, just until I can go over the finer points of the policy with the customer.  Because the “defaults” of a new Universal Password will not allow samba to work;  you *must* enable one non-default thing in the policy:

  • Allow admin to retrieve passwords

…or you will get an error when trying to Samba-enable the user.  The error will be something like this:

“Could not Samba enable the user for group, (windows name)-W-SambaUserGroup”

Of course, I need to clarify that I only have this problem when in a rush… I’m a nice, diligent, thorough consultant who usually designs, configures, and deploys a Universal Password Policy with a customer, in a test-bed, well in advance of deploying Samba… You believe me, don’t you?

😉

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