Share a folder between computers over the network

SMB (Server Message Block) is a network protocol that facilitates file and printer sharing between computers in a local network

How does it work?

There are some solutions out there, but this is a very quick and easy solution which requires only some configuration and not installing software.

If your are using multiple PCs or want a way to share some files between multiple computers, this is the way to go.

Share a folder, create a user used for sharing.

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Remember that SMB has multiple versions, so if you want to share a folder between an older computer and a newer one (I hope that is for moving your old files to the newer PC), you should create the shared folder on the older PC and then move those files to the newer one.

Should you use it?

I use SMB for accessing files from my main workstation on my laptop. I don't want to use a USB or some cloud solution to get a small text file with notes I wrote minutes ago.

How to share a folder over SMB?

On Windows:

1. Select the Folder: Right-click on the folder you want to share and choose "Properties."

2. Enable Sharing: In the "Properties" window, go to the "Sharing" tab.

3. Share Options: Click on "Share" and choose the users or groups with whom you want to share the folder.

4. Set Permissions: Adjust the permissions for the shared folder, specifying whether users can only read or also write to the folder.

5. Share Name: Assign a share name, often referred to as the "Share Name" or "Share Path."

6. Advanced Sharing: For more advanced options, click on the "Advanced Sharing" button.

7. Check "Share this folder": In the "Advanced Sharing" window, check the "Share this folder" option.

8. Permissions (Advanced): Configure additional permissions by clicking on the "Permissions" button.

9. Apply and OK: Click "Apply" and then "OK" to save your changes.

Once shared, the folder will be accessible to other devices on the network using the SMB protocol.

On Linux:

Install Samba (if not installed): Use your package manager to install Samba, the software suite that provides SMB functionality.

sudo apt-get install samba     # For Debian/Ubuntu
sudo yum install samba         # For Red Hat/Fedora</p>

Configure Samba: Edit the Samba configuration file. The file location may vary (e.g., /etc/samba/smb.conf).

Create a Share Section: Add a section for the folder you want to share in the configuration file.

path = /path/to/your/folder
writable = yes

Set Permissions: Adjust the permissions based on your requirements.

Restart Samba: Restart the Samba service for changes to take effect.

sudo service smbd restart     # For systems using SysVinit
sudo systemctl restart smbd   # For systems using systemd

You might need to check the documentation for your system to properly set up SMB.