Setting up Samba as an NT4 PDC (Quick Start)

From SambaWiki

Introduction

While Samba still officially supports the latest version acting as an NT4 primary domain controller (PDC), it is suggested that you do not create a new NT4-domain environment. We recommend setting up Samba as an Active Directory (AD) domain controller (DC), because Microsoft officially stopped the support of Windows NT4 at the end of 2004. Even if later published Windows versions can still join an NT4 domain, any future security or enhancement update can break or disable this deprecated feature. For example, Windows 7 and later already require modifications on the client side and Windows 10 additional on the PDC to operate in an NT4 domain. For details, see Required Settings for Samba NT4 Domains.

The following documentation is a minimal quick start guide to set up Samba as an NT4 PDC. You have to create user and machine accounts manually on the PDC which are stored within the Samba internal tdbsam database. You can later enhance this setup with additional features, such as OpenLDAP back end support.



Preconditions

The documentation assumes that:

  • the operating system is installed.
  • the network on the host is set up and working.
  • a supported Samba version is installed.



Set up the Primary Domain Controller

To set up the Primary Domain Controller (PDC):

  • To locate the path of the smb.conf file Samba uses, run:
# smbd -b | grep "CONFIGFILE"
   CONFIGFILE: /usr/local/samba/etc/smb.conf
  • Use the following content in your smb.conf file:
[global]
        netbios name = PDC
        workgroup = SAMDOM
        security = User

        passdb backend = tdbsam
        username map = /usr/local/samba/etc/username.map

        domain logons = Yes

        log file = /var/log/samba/%m
        log level = 1
This is a minimum configuration, to set up an NT4 PDC using a local tdbsam database. For details about the parameters, see the smb.conf (5) man page.
  • Optionally, to enable Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 and later to connect to this Samba server, additionally set the following in the [global] section in your smb.conf file:
 server max protocol = NT1
For details, see Required Settings for Samba NT4 Domains.
  • Create the user name mapping file /usr/local/samba/etc/username.map with the following content:
root = administrator
This maps the NT4 account administrator to the local root user.
  • Start the smbd and nmbd daemons.



User Account Creation

To create a demoUser user account in the NT4 domain:

  • Create the account on the local system:
# useradd -M -s /sbin/nologin demoUser
Omit the -M parameter if the user requires a home directory on this host. For Samba access, the account does not require a valid shell.
  • To enable the demoUserx account on the local system:
# passwd demoUser
Enter new UNIX password: Passw0rd
Retype new UNIX password: Passw0rd
passwd: password updated successfully
This password is only required for local log ins. Setting a local password is required to enable the account. Samba denies access if the account is disabled locally. Local log ins using this password are not possible if the account was created without a valid shell.
  • Add the root and demoUser accounts to the Samba database:
# smbpasswd -a root
New SMB password: Passw0rd
Retype new SMB password: Passw0rd
Added user demoUser.
# smbpasswd -a demoUser
New SMB password: Passw0rd
Retype new SMB password: Passw0rd
Added user demoUser.
The passwords assigned in this step are the ones used by the users to log in to the domain.
  • To enable both Samba accounts:
# smbpasswd -e root
Enabled user root.
# smbpasswd -e demoUser
Enabled user demoUser.



Machine Account creation

To create a machine account for the domain member M1:

  • Create the local Unix user account:
# useradd -M -s /sbin/nologin M1$
  • Enable the machine account:
# smbpasswd -m -a M1$
Added user M1$.
The -m parameter indicates that the account is a machine trust account.



Windows Client Operating Modifications

Modern Windows client operating systems require some modifies to operate in an NT4 domain. For details, see Required Settings for Samba NT4 Domains.



Joining a Client to the Domain

For details, see: