Testing the smb.conf File

Samba has a test utility called testparm that alerts you to errors in the smb.conf file. If you used SWAT to edit the file, you will usually pass the test successfully, as shown:

     [root@bigboy tmp]# testparm -s
     Load smb config files from /etc/samba/smb.conf
     Processing section "[homes]"
     Processing section "[printers]"
     Loaded services file OK.
     ...
     ...
     [root@bigboy tmp]#

A successful test only means that Samba will load the configuration file. There are other causes for Samba problems.

Tip You can use testparm to test a file that's different from the default /etc/samba/smb.conf configuration file. Simply provide the filename as the first argument: [root@bigboy tmp]# testparm -s filename