r3dux.org

First, get samba with the following command: sudo apt-get install samba smbfs

Now, create a folder to use as your mount point on your linux drive (I’m using /mnt/NAS – you can use whatever you’d like): sudo mkdir /mnt/NAS

Then edit your /etc/fstab file with: sudo gedit /etc/fstab

On my NAS I have two separate shares, one of which is called (unimaginatively enough) Share, so I’m going to add lines to /etc/fstab in the following format:

# Mount NAS share
//IP-OF-YOUR-NAS/NAS-SHARE-NAME /SHARE-MOUNT-POINT smbfs username=USER-NAME-OF-NAS-USER,password=PASSWORD-OF-NAS-USER,uid=YOUR-UID-NUMBER,gid=YOUR-GID-NUMBER 0 0

So  -  for my own personal setup, and because I’ve already created a username and password on the NAS [via the NAS' web interface - available at http://IP-OF-YOUR-NAS] called r3dux, I’d put:

# Mount NAS share
//192.168.1.100/Share /mnt/NAS smbfs username=r3dux,password=MyPasswordHere,uid=1000,gid=1000 0 0

There are other ways where you don’t have to put your password in plaintext in the fstab file, but as long as you’ve got it set to read/write only by the root account, no one else can even look at the file to read the password. To set permissions that way, just use: sudo chmod 600 /etc/fstab

Which gives read and write permissions to root, but denies groups and any other users any access whatsoever (even just looking at!)

Job done.

Update: When mounting a NAS there are two user acounts you’re using: 1.) Your linux user account which goes in the uid and gid fields, and 2.) The NAS user account (which is set up from the NAS’ web interface) which goes into the username and password fields.

So if you want to have write access to the NAS, then you’ll need to set up a user account from the NAS’ web interface | Users sections, and mount the NAS as the user the NAS knows about with required privileges. In the fstab line above we’re mounting with user (uid) and group (gid) permissions set to 1000, that is user id 1000 (the id number of the first user on a linux system) [your user id can be looked up in /etc/passwd] and group id 1000 (i.e. the first user on a linux system [in my case my own r3dux group] – your group id can be looked up in /etc/group) – if you want to use other users/group to mount as, feel free.

Update 2: Forgot to mention that this will mount the NAS on reboot, to force a mount using the fstab details you’ve just entered, simply run the command sudo mount -a

Update 3: Fixed the above uid/gid mentions to NOT say anything about linux file permissions – it’s user and group identifiers to mount the NAS by, and NOT standard linux file permissions, mea culpa – fixed.

Awesome t-shirt =D

Read this in a slashdot comment today and it made me smile:

An IT manager starts a new position.

All goes well for a few weeks, then something big breaks. Lots of pressure. Rooting around in his desk, he finds 3 envelopes. The first is labeled “Open at the First Crisis”. On a whim, he opens it and the note inside reads “Blame it on your Predecessor”. He decides to take this advice and to his surprise, it works like a charm, management is satisfied, he is given time to fix things.

A few months go by and a something much bigger breaks, seriously disrupting operations. He is in trouble. At his desk, he decides to open the envelope labeled: “Open at the Second Crisis”. He’d been saving it for something big, and this is it. The note inside says: “Form a Committee to Study the Issue”. He does just that and, to his surprise, it works great. The committee wastes time and accomplishes nothing, but blame is diffused.

A few years go by. The third and final envelope is labeled: “Open at the Third Crisis”. He thinks about opening it many times, but he waits, saving it for a real disaster. One day, it comes. Catastrophic failure. He takes a deep breath, tears the envelope open and inside, finds a note that reads: “Prepare Three Envelopes”.