Samba
 

I need help with getting samba up and running. I think I have narrowed the problem down to the linux firewall. What ports does samba use?

I think it is 137-139. Just be careful before opening the ports.

If your going to be running your server on the Internet, do not run samba. Other wise you could be sharing your hard drive with everyone on the Internet. If your looking to store files on your server, its best to use ftp.

I wanted to be able to just copy files to it but I do not want to open it to everyone so I will keep the ports closed.

:) I still wouldn't run Samba on a webserver. I would make a file where you plan to store your data. And then I would make a user and point the user to your storage folder. And then I would use FTP to transfer files. Its much safer.

ok. I also have secure FTP on the server so it should be as secure as I can get.

What are the reasons for not using Samba as a server?
Is it insecure compared to other Linux distributions?

Samba server allows you to share files between a Linux machine and a Windows machine. Its not a distribution but rather a service on the Linux OS. The first thing I do to my server is uninstall Samba. I feel it has no place on a webserver. :cool:

but you could just leave the ports shut on your router so only you can access it from with in the network

If you just plan on running a home webserver. And have no plans of ever sending your server to a data center. Then yes you could do that. But I still don't recommend you setting it up like that. If you still plan of setting it up like that. Make sure and triple check that the Samba ports are closed to the Internet. Make certain that you can only access it from the LAN.