[Samba] Sharing USB devices?

[Hal Vaughan]

> On Feb 10, 2022, at 4:33 AM, Dr. Thomas Orgis via samba <samba at lists.samba.org> wrote:
> 
> Am Wed, 9 Feb 2022 13:13:01 -0500
> schrieb Hal Vaughan via samba <samba at lists.samba.org>: 
> 
>> and then share the device node file in /dev over Samba.
> 
> Linux device nodes are just some kind of links that tell the system to
> talk to the device of major number x and minor y. If you share such as
> simple file over the network, it would translate to your client (if it
> also works that way, at all) looking for device x:y _locally_.

Rephrasing - could you please tell me if I’m saying this correctly? Trying to be sure I get it.

So a node device points at something specific on the system. If I shared one on System A and used it on System B, then System B would interpret it as pointing to something on System B - it wouldn’t relate it at all to anything on System A.

Is that correct.

> AFAIR the Plan 9 project with the associated network protocol intended
> to do more network transparency also of devices in the manner you
> desire, but that's not what Samba does.

Thank you. I’ll look into that.

> So I second the recommendations to set up a system that offers remote
> desktop and file sharing on the dirty side and have the client with
> display and human input on the other side.

I’m considering that. I still have a fair amount to research on RMP for that. (For instance, how to stream the screen contents when there’s no monitor on the server.)



Thank you.



Hal