[Samba] recognizing netbios name

[Robert T McQuaid]

    July 6, 2009

    Samba
    samba at lists.samba.org

    Subject:  recognizing netbios name 

    I have a Fedora 10 Linux system connected through a
    router to three windows computers (XP+XP+Vista).  The
    Linux computer seems unable to present a netbios name to
    the rest of the network.  The Linux computer can read
    files from all of the Windows computers, but the windows
    computers cannot see anything on the Linux system.

    The following diagnoses have already been made:

    I shut off the modem connecting to the internet, then
    disabled all firewalls.  No improvement.

    I looked in the router for its table of attached
    devices.  It lists a device name for the windows
    computers, a blank for the Linux computer.  The device
    name is what windows puts after \\ on a remote file
    name, and what Samba calls netbios name.

    The only communication from a windows computer that
    responds is ping 192.168.0.4 .  A ping with a netbios
    name fails with the diagnostic:

        A ping request could not find host Dell.
        Please check the name and try again.

    File /etc/samba/smb.conf (with most comments omitted)
    looks like:


    [global]
    #--authconfig--start-line--

    # Generated by authconfig on 2009/07/04 13:50:55
    # DO NOT EDIT THIS SECTION (delimited by --start-line--/--end-line--)
    # Any modification may be deleted or altered by authconfig in future

       workgroup = GLORP
       security = user
       idmap uid = 16777216-33554431
       idmap gid = 16777216-33554431
       template shell = /bin/false
       winbind use default domain = false
       winbind offline logon = false

    #--authconfig--end-line--

       server string = Samba Server Version %v
       netbios name = Dell
       hosts allow = 127. 192.168.0.1 192.168.0.2 192.168.0.3
                          192.168.0.4 192.168.0.5

       log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m
       max log size = 50
       log level = 3

       passdb backend = tdbsam

       load printers = yes
       cups options = raw

    [homes]
       comment = Home Directories
       browseable = no
       writable = yes

    [printers]
       comment = All Printers
       path = /var/spool/samba
       browseable = no
       guest ok = no
       writable = no
       printable = yes
        

    <end of smb.conf>

    What does it take to get windows to recognize the Linux
    system?

    Robert T McQuaid
    Mattawa Ontario Canada