18. Sharing Files between RHEL 8 and Windows Systems with Samba
Although Linux has made some inroads into the desktop market, its origins and future are very much server-based. It is not surprising therefore that RHEL 8 has the ability to act as a file server. It is also extremely common for RHEL and Windows systems to be used side by side in networked environments. It is a common requirement, therefore, that files on a RHEL 8 system be accessible to Linux, UNIX and Windows-based systems over network connections. Similarly, shared folders and printers residing on Windows systems may also need to be accessible from RHEL 8 based systems.
Windows systems share resources such as file systems and printers using a protocol known as Server Message Block (SMB). In order for a RHEL 8 system to serve such resources over a network to a Windows system and vice versa it must, therefore, support SMB. This is achieved using technology called Samba. In addition to providing integration between...