NMBD(8)
NAME
nmbd - provide netbios nameserver support to clients
SYNOPSIS
nmbd [ -D ] [ -H netbios hosts file ] [ -d debuglevel ] [
-l log basename ] [ -n netbios name ] [ -p port number ] [
-s configuration file ]
DESCRIPTION
This program is part of the Samba suite.
nmbd is a server that understands and can reply to netbios
name service requests, like those produced by LanManager
clients. It also controls browsing.
LanManager clients, when they start up, may wish to locate
a LanManager server. That is, they wish to know what IP
number a specified host is using.
This program simply listens for such requests, and if its
own name is specified it will respond with the IP number
of the host it is running on. Its "own name" is by
default the name of the host it is running on, but this
can be overriden with the -n option (see "OPTIONS" below).
nmbd can also be used as a WINS (Windows Internet Name
Server) server. What this basically means is that it will
respond to all name requests that it receives that are not
broadcasts, as long as it can resolve the name. Resolv-
able names include all names in the netbios hosts file (if
any, see -H below), its own name, and any other names that
it may have learned about from other browsers on the net-
work. A change to previous versions is that nmbd will now
no longer do this automatically by default.
OPTIONS
-B
This option is obsolete. Please use the "interfaces"
option in smb.conf instead.
-I
This option is obsolete. Please use the "interfaces"
option in smb.conf instead.
-D
If specified, this parameter causes the server to oper-
ate as a daemon. That is, it detaches itself and runs
in the background, fielding requests on the appropriate
port.
By default, the server will NOT operate as a daemon.
-C comment string
This option is obsolete. Please use the "server string"
option in smb.conf instead.
-G
This option is obsolete. Please use the "workgroup"
option in smb.conf instead.
-H netbios hosts file
It may be useful in some situations to be able to spec-
ify a list of netbios names for which the server should
send a reply if queried. This option allows you to
specify a file containing such a list. The syntax of
the hosts file is similar to the standard /etc/hosts
file format, but has some extensions.
The file contains three columns. Lines beginning with a
# are ignored as comments. The first column is an IP
address, or a hostname. If it is a hostname then it is
interpreted as the IP address returned by gethostby-
name() when read. An IP address of 0.0.0.0 will be
interpreted as the server's own IP address.
The second column is a netbios name. This is the name
that the server will respond to. It must be less than
20 characters long.
The third column is optional, and is intended for
flags. Currently the only flag supported is M, which
means that this name is the default netbios name for
this machine. This has the same effect as specifying
the -n option to nmbd.
NOTE: The G and S flags are now obsolete and are
replaced by the "interfaces" and "remote announce"
options in smb.conf.
The default hosts file name is set at compile time,
typically as /etc/lmhosts, but this may be changed in
the Samba Makefile.
After startup the server waits for queries, and will
answer queries for any name known to it. This includes
all names in the netbios hosts file, its own name, and
any other names it may have learned about from other
browsers on the network.
The primary intention of the -H option is to allow a
mapping from netbios names to internet domain names.
Example:
# This is a sample netbios hosts file
# DO NOT USE THIS FILE AS-IS
# YOU MAY INCONVENIENCE THE OWNERS OF THESE IPs
# if you want to include a name with a space in
it then
# use double quotes.
# next add a netbios alias for a faraway host
arvidsjaur.anu.edu.au ARVIDSJAUR
# finally put in an IP for a hard to find host
130.45.3.213 FREDDY
-N
This option is obsolete. Please use the "interfaces"
option in smb.conf instead.
-d debuglevel
This option sets the debug level. See smb.conf(5).
-l log file
The log file parameter specifies a path and base file-
name into which operational data from the running nmbd
server will be logged. The actual log file name is
generated by appending the extension ".nmb" to the
specified base name. For example, if the name speci-
fied was "log" then the file log.nmb would contain the
debugging data.
The default log file is specified at compile time, typ-
ically as /var/log/log.nmb.
-n netbios name
This option allows you to override the Netbios name
that Samba uses for itself.
-a
If this parameter is specified, the log files will be
appended to with each new connection. By default, the
log files will be overwritten.
-p port number
port number is a positive integer value.
Don't use this option unless you are an expert, in
which case you won't need help!
-s configuration file
The default configuration file name is set at compile
time, typically as /etc/smb.conf, but this may be
changed in the Samba Makefile.
The file specified contains the configuration details
required by the server. See smb.conf(5) for more
information.
SIGNALS
In version 1.9.18 and above, nmbd will accept SIGHUP,
which will cause it to dump out it's namelists into the
file namelist.debug in the SAMBA/var/locks directory. This
will also cause nmbd to dump out it's server database in
the log.nmb file. Also new in version 1.9.18 and above is
the ability to raise the debug log level of nmbd by send-
ing it a SIGUSR1 (kill -USR1 <nmbd-pid>) and to lower the
nmbd log level by sending it a SIGUSR2 (kill -USR2 VERSION
This man page is (mostly) correct for version 1.9.16 of
the Samba suite, plus some of the recent patches to it.
These notes will necessarily lag behind development of the
software, so it is possible that your version of the
server has extensions or parameter semantics that differ
from or are not covered by this man page. Please notify
these to the address below for rectification.
SEE ALSO
inetd(8) smbd(8) smb.conf(5) smbclient(1) testparm(1)
testprns(1)
CREDITS
The original Samba software and related utilities were
created by Andrew Tridgell samba-bugs@samba.anu.edu.au.
Andrew is also the Keeper of the Source for this project.