SME Server 9.2 Samba Reset & Troubleshooting Guide

This guide covers how to reset and troubleshoot Samba on SME Server 9.2 (based on CentOS 6 / Samba 3.6), especially when modern Windows clients cannot connect.

1. Check Samba Service Status

svstat /service/smbd
svstat /service/nmbd

Expected output should show up instead of normally down.

2. Verify Configuration

config getprop smb status
config getprop smb TCPPorts

Look for:

status = enabled
TCPPorts = 139,445

3. Check Listening Ports

netstat -tulpn | grep smbd

On SME 9.2, you will usually see port 139 only. Port 445 may not bind properly with Samba 3.6.

4. SMB1 vs SMB2/3 Issue

SME 9.2 only supports SMB1. Modern Windows disables SMB1 by default, causing connection errors.

Windows Error:
“The remote device or resource won’t accept the connection.”

5. Workarounds

Option A: Enable SMB1 on Windows (Quick Fix)

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName "SMB1Protocol-Client" -NoRestart

Run this in PowerShell as Administrator, then reboot Windows.

Option B: Force Samba to Bind Port 445 (Experimental)

config setprop smb TCPPorts 139,445
signal-event post-upgrade
signal-event reboot

After reboot, check again with netstat. Binding to port 445 may not always succeed on Samba 3.6.

Option C: Long-Term Solution

Upgrade to SME Server 10.x with Samba 4.x, which supports SMB2/3 natively and works with modern Windows clients.

6. Logs

Check Samba logs for errors:

/var/log/samba/log.smbd
/var/log/samba/log.nmbd

7. Security Note

SMB1 is deprecated and insecure.
Only use SMB1 on trusted LANs and never expose it to the internet. For secure environments, upgrade to SME 10.x.