How can I make a linux samba server to announce itself on the local LAN via Bonjour to Mac clients?

Question

I have a Linux debian based file server using samba and nowadays being accessed successfully by Mac OS X clients..

I'd like this resource to be available in a more user friendly way, by means of Bonjour.

Is it possible, and how it would be possible, to configure the linux server in order to announce itself via Bonjour on the local network?

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

Create a file /etc/avahi/services/samba.service:

<?xml version="1.0" standalone='no'?><!--*-nxml-*-->
<!DOCTYPE service-group SYSTEM "avahi-service.dtd">
<service-group>
    <name replace-wildcards="yes">%h filer</name>
    <service>
        <type>_smb._tcp</type>
        <port>139</port>
    </service>
</service-group>

Then restart avahi:

service avahi restart

Answer 2

You need to install Ahavi, which is a free ZeroConf (Bonjour) implementation. After that's done, see:

Setup Samba for Bonjour networking with OS X 10.5 Leopard

Answer 3

Nowadays, port 445 is used. So the config file should look like this:

root:~# cat /etc/avahi/services/samba.service 
<?xml version="1.0" standalone='no'?><!--*-nxml-*-->
<!DOCTYPE service-group SYSTEM "avahi-service.dtd">

<service-group>
  <name replace-wildcards="yes">%h</name>
  <service>
    <type>_smb._tcp</type>
    <port>445</port>

  </service>
</service-group>