How to create password protected CIFS share using Samba user only

Owned by Admin
Aug 18, 2021
2 min read

This KB article explains how to create Softnas password-protected CIFS shares by creating a Samba user and without having an Active Directory for managing permissions.

Step-by-step guide

  1. After logging to the Softnas UI click on "CIFS Shares" and then the "Manage Samba Users" tab "Add user" button.

  2. Create & Configure Volumes KB article can help you create a CIFS share while creating ZFS volume. If you want you can create the volume first and then follow Step 1. Creating a CIFS Share KB article can be followed to create a CIFS share but the recommended way is to create the CIFS share while creating the ZFS volume that way Samba config file will be automatically populated with all the necessary configurations.

  3. Go the the "CIFS Shares", select the share which you want to be password protected, and click on "Security And Access Control".

  4. Disable Guest access by selecting the "none" option. Add the Samba user you created in the "Valid Users" field and hit save. After that, go back to the CIFS share list and restart the Samba server. Please note that by default windows only allow accessing one password-protected share at a time. If you want to access another password-protected samba share using the same windows client then the below windows CLI command can help you out.

      > net use * /delete