All that remains is a way of accessing the shared files and folders over the workgroup network. Accessing Linux shares from Windows is pretty straightforward: your Linux SAMBA server is available in the Windows Network Neighborhood. Access it just like you would access a Windows machine on the network.
But accessing Windows shared folders within Linux is not that simple. There are two ways of doing this: first, the command prompt way a la UNIX. Here are some commands for the select few who think GUls are a pain.
1. 5mbclient L Hostname –U
Username: This command will display all the Windows shared resources available on the network. Hostname is the name of the Windows Pc. Alternatively, you can replace it with its IP address if DNS does not work. Username is a valid SAMBA user created using smbpasswd.
2. 5mbclient \\\\<Hostname>\\<Share Name> <Password>:
This command will connect to the shared resource on the specified host. Due to shell restrictions, the backs lashes are escaped using extra backslashes. This command will result in a FTP like 5MB prompt.
SMB> type H for commands to access files and folders which include standard file handling such as copy, cut, rename, delete, etc.
