Ubuntu error: does not see the Samba network

You may have had a problem when Ubuntu cannot find computers running Windows or cannot access network resources via Samba. This situation is common for many distributions with the Gnome GUI. Previously, the reason for this was due to a bug in GVFS, but since then several other reasons have arisen. In this article, we will tell you how to solve the problem, configure Ubuntu to work with Windows or Samba balls and retrain Nautilus and Dolphin so that they can see all network resources.

Why Ubuntu doesn't see Windows or Samba network

Ubuntu may not see the Windows network due to Microsoft's rejection of the SMB1 protocol and the transition to the SMB2 and SMB3 protocols, which do not have network detection capabilities. To display network resources on Ubuntu, either avahi or the SMB1 protocol is used, so you will not be able to see the Windows balloon without turning the outdated protocol back on in the registry.

Also, Windows will not see Samba balls due to the lack of support for the new WS-Discovery service. To solve this problem, you need to install the WSDD service separately. But an even bigger problem was disabling support for the SMB1 protocol on the Samba 4.11 server, which is why Nautils and Dolphin stopped seeing not only Windows balls, but Linux too. The solution to the problem can be either installing Avahi on the Samba server, or enabling support for the old SMB1 protocol on the Samba server.

Setting up a Samba network for easy access to files
Enabling SMB1 protocol support

In order for the Samba server to be available on the Windows network, it is necessary to enable support for the SMB1 protocol.

To do this, edit the /etc/samba/smb.conf file as follows:

sudo vi /etc/samba/smb.conf

[global]
server min protocol = NT1
client min protocol = NT1
min protocol = NT1

Configuring the Hostname

Make sure that the host name of your server matches the value of the netbios name parameter in the /etc/samba/smb.conf file. You can check the hostname with the hostname command and add it to the /etc/hosts file:

hostname

sudo vi /etc/hosts

127.0.0.1 localhost
192.168.1.2 my_server

[...]

[global]
netbios name = my_server

Installing Avahi

If the problem persists, try installing and configuring the Avahi service. It will allow your Samba server to be displayed in a network environment in Nautilus.

To install Avahi, run:

sudo apt install avahi-daemon avahi-utils

Next, start the service and add it to the startup:

sudo systemctl enable avahi-daemon
sudo systemctl start avahi-daemon

Check the available services with the command:

avahi-browse --all

Installing WSDD

To make your Samba server available on the Windows network, install and configure the WSDD service. This service allows Windows to see your server on the network.

To install WSDD, run the following commands:

git clone https://github.com/Andy2244/wsdd2.git
cd wsdd2
make
sudo make install
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now wsdd2

Your Samba server should now be available on the Windows network. Check its availability by opening the network environment in Nautilus or Windows Explorer. If everything is configured correctly, you should see your Samba server and its balls.