Sharing Files by Connecting to a Linux System from a Windows System

To share files on a Linux system with a Windows system (by connecting to a Linux host from a Windows guest or connecting to a Linux guest from a Windows host or guest), you can run Samba on the Linux system and browse shared directories in the Linux file system from Network Neighborhood in the Windows system.

You need to modify Samba on the Linux host operating system so it recognizes the vmnet8 switch, otherwise you cannot access the Linux file system. You need to do this even if you installed host-only networking (as Samba is installed when you install host-only networking with GSX Server). For more information about Samba, see Using Samba for File Sharing on a Linux Host.

If you want to share the directory /home/user/shared, for example, on a Linux host operating system with a Windows guest operating system, follow these steps:

1. On the Linux host operating system, back up the smb.conf file to a file called something like smb.conf.orig.
cd /etc/vmware/vmnet1/smb cp smb.conf smb.conf.orig

2. Modify Samba on the Linux host system. Edit the following lines in
/etc/vmware/vmnet1/smb/smb.conf.

d. If you do not want to use the standard DNS name for the Linux system, set netbiosname=<Linux system name>.

e. You can leave security=user, unless you cannot connect, in which case use security=share.

g. In the [global] section, define a different shared memory access key. Add this line:
sysv shm key=/dev/vmnet8

h. For better performance, find this line:
socket options = TCP_NODELAYEdit the line to state:
socket options = TCP_NODELAY SO_RCVBUF=8192 SO_SNDBUF=8192

i. To create the share, add the following:
[SHARE_NAME] path = /home/user/shared public = no writable = yes printable = no (since you want to share files, not a printer)

j. Save this file and create a backup copy to protect these changes when you upgrade GSX Server.

If GSX Server is running on the Linux host system, suspend or shut down all running virtual machines and close all GSX Server console windows.

Connect to the virtual machine with a console and run the Windows guest operating system from which you want to connect to the Linux host. The user ID you use to log in to the Windows guest must be in the Linux host's smbpasswd file. If you use the same user name and password to log in to the guest as you do on the Linux host, then you are not prompted to log in when you browse the Linux host.

If you are connecting to the Linux system from a Windows Me, Windows 98 or Windows 95 guest operating system, NetBEUI must be installed in the guest operating system before you can browse the file system. If you need to install NetBEUI, you may need your Windows installation CD-ROM.

When the system restarts, the Samba service does not appear in the list of services starting up, but it does start, unless an error appears.

To share the directory /home/user/shared, for example, on a Linux guest operating system with a Windows host or guest operating system, follow these steps:

1. On the Linux guest operating system, back up the smb.conf file to a file called something like smb.conf.orig.
cp /etc/smb.conf /etc/smb.conf.orig

2. Modify Samba on the Linux system to share the directory. To create the share, add the following to /etc/smb.conf.

[SHARE_NAME] path = /home/user/shared public = no writable = yes printable = no (since you want to share files, not a printer)

3. Restart the Samba services to load the new settings. On the Linux guest operating system, at a command prompt, type:

When the system restarts, the Samba service appears in the list of services starting up.