Add user or change permissions requires CIFS restart...

[cgoodwille]

I am running FreeNAS-8.0.3-RELEASE-x64 (9395) and am successfully sharing a volume over CIFS (using local users) with Windows 7 PCs. However, every time I add another local user or change a user's permissions, I have to restart the CIFS service for the changes to take effect. This is very inconvenient as it requires disconnecting all the current users from the shares.

Is there a way to ensure that user changes are propagated without restarting the CIFS service?

Let me know if you need any further information.
Cheers
Campbell

 

[Daisuke]

Stopping the CIFS service on FreeNAS does not requires any user to disconnect from shares. At least not in my setup. The network device will simply stop working. Once you start the service the network device will show again automatically in your network.

 

[cgoodwille]

The network device will simply stop working

And it's this that I'm trying to avoid - if users have files open, then they'll lose connection to them. [I should have been more precise with my language in the first place]

I read somewhere that you ought to be able to add a new user without restarting the service but it doesn't work for me. It's not the end of the world - I can give people a (pre-defined) temporary user to use until I restart the service in the evening when everybody has gone home, but I'd really like to be able to make (near) instant updates.

 

[Daisuke]

The question is: how often do you set new users?
From what I read, it looks like you use your NAS as a central repository for files where users collaborate on the same project.

1) Add your new user.
2) Restart CIFS from console, without interrupting service:

Code:

# service samba reload
Performing sanity check on Samba configuration: OK
Reloading nmbd.
Reloading smbd.

 

[cgoodwille]

Thanks for the suggestion but that doesn't work either - the service appears to need to be stopped explicitly and restarted. It's not the end of the world if I have to do this, I'd just like to know if it is possible to avoid...

FYI the new user is listed when I run 'pdbedit -L', so it is definitely being added to the samba users database.

Anybody have any other suggestions?

 

[cgoodwille]

This appears to be a feature of Samba so I guess I'll just have to live with it!

Other thread here:
http://sourceforge.net/apps/phpbb/freenas/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=12599&p=57667#p57667

 

[digitaltrash]

cgoodwille,

I think you are right on that it's a samba issue. I was watching unixcbt videos for freebsd, and the guy said that making changes in samba configuration file (smb.conf, which is what cifs/smb shares pane in freenas webgui manipulates, i presume) does not autostart samba services (smbd and nmbd daemons). This means that for the changes to take effect, the samba server needs to be restarted, or stopped and then started again, temporarily disabling the user access to the shares.

So, with that in mind, I think its a good idea, if possible one, to first set your users, give them passwords and access privileges, and then start samba. I have not seen any workaround on this so far.