Ubuntu : Install Samba Server

How to install Samba Server in Ubuntu Server v.22.04.4

1. As usual, update Ubuntu's repositories.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

2. Install the Samba server.

sudo apt install samba -y

3. To verify the Samba installation.

sudo whereis samba

OR

sudo samba -v

OR

sudo systemctl status smbd

4. Make a backup of Samba's configuration file.

sudo cp /etc/samba/smb.conf /etc/samba/smb.conf.bak

5. Edit the Samba's configuration file.

sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

6. Browse to the end of the file and add in the following configurations.

[global]    server string = [Hostname] [samba_share]    comment = Samba Shared Folder    path = /mnt/samba_share    browsable = yes    writable = yes    read only = no    guest ok = no    valid users = [Samba Username]

7. Assign the proper permissions to the shared folder.

sudo chmod -R 755 /mnt/samba_share

8. Create a new Samba user.

sudo smbpasswd -a [Username]

*Note : you will be prompted to key-in the user's password.

9. Enable the created User for Samba access.

sudo smbpasswd -e [Username]

10. Test the Samba configuration.

sudo testparm

11. Restart Samba service for the new configurations.

sudo systemctl restart smbd

12. Test the Samba connections using another computer and with the credentials created.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

HP Z800 Workstation : Update Firmware for LSI 1068E Controller

The LSI 1068E SAS/SATA RAID Controller is an embedded controller available in HP Z800 Workstation system. But the supported RAID level on this controller is RAID-0, RAID-1 and RAID-1E which is not suitable, due to the hardware designed you are not able to do RAID-5.

As such it makes sense to just update the firmware to IT Mode (Initiator-Target Mode) so that you can make use of ZFS that mostly found in TrueNAS, UnRaid, Proxmox VE etc.

The problems is that the LSI 1068E firmware are custom and specially made for HP Z series and there are no download available to change the controller to IT Mode. However someone on the Internet managed to find out that the 1068E chip is the same chip as 3081E (or compatible).

Pre-requisites :-

1. A 4GB or larger USB Flash drive.
2. LSI 3081E Firmware and MPT ROM files (https://www.broadcom.com/support/download-search?pg=Legacy+Products&pf=Legacy+Host+Bus+Adapters&pn=LSI+SAS+3081E-R&pa=Firmware&po=&dk=&pl=&l=false).
3. Rufus Utility (https://rufus.ie/en/).

Steps-By-Steps :-

1. Prepare the USB Flash drive with Rufus, at the "Boot Selection" dropdown, select --> FreeDOS option.

2. Once completed, extract the downloaded firmware file into the USB flash drive, you might want to create a simple and short folder name for it (eg. SAS3918E).

You need to copy "sasflash.exe" from "SASflash_DOS_rel" folder and replace the existing file in the main folder. This is because the existing file in the main folder is for Windows use and not for DOS use, thus replacing the file is IMPORTANT.

3. Then plugin the USB flash drive to HP Z800 Workstation and boot the computer via the USB flash drive. You might need to press --> [F9] key to invoke the "Boot menu selection".

4. Once booted up, type the following command --> sasflash.exe -list

You should see the result something similar as below screenshot. Take note on the "Controller" where the "(B3)" is the type of the controller version. And also the "SAS Address" displayed, you might need this info at a later stage. Write it down or take a screenshot of the information.

5. Next is to run the batch file to update it, type --> hbaFlash.bat

The batch file will prompt you multiple questions, just follow the on-screen instructions. Below are just an example of my run :-

Welcome to LSI Logic Integrated SAS Flash Utility      This Utility will upgrade your LSI SAS HBA              !!!             WARNING              !!!             !!! LSI strongly recommends you save !!!             !!!  the existing firmware and BIOS  !!!             !!!    currently installed on your   !!!             !!!          SAS Controller          !!!      Your existing firmware will be saved as Firmware.fw      Your existing BIOS will be saved as     BIOS.rom      in the current directory      press y or n     (yes or no) ? Y      Saving old firmware and BIOS sasflash -ufirmware Firmware.fw sasflash -ubios BIOS.rom

TO FLASH  3080     press  1 TO FLASH  3081     press  2 TO FLASH  3800     press  3 TO FLASH  3801     press  4 TO FLASH  3442     press  5 TO FLASH  3041     press  6 TO FLASH  3444     press  7 TO FLASH  31601    press  8 TO EXIT press 9 press 1 to 9 ? 2

The HBA is PCI-X or PCIe For PCI-X press  X or x For PCIe  press  E or e To Exit press    Q or q press X, E or Q ? E

IR or IT Firmware For Integrated RAID (IR) press   R or r For Initator-Target (IT) press   T or t TO EXIT press   q press R, T or q ? T

Which Chip Version? For A3  press  1 For A4  press  2 For B0  press  3 For B1  press  4 For B2  press  5 For B3  press  6 To Exit press  7 press 1 to 6 (or 7 to quit) ? 6

You have selected 3081PCI-e T firmware with chip B3 sasflash -f 3081ETB3.fw -b MPTSAS.ROM OK to Flash  press  F or f TO EXIT press       q TO EXIT press       q ? F sasflash -o -f 3081ETB3.fw -b MPTSAS.ROM

6. Once the Flash have completed, type --> sasflash.exe -list 
to confirm the results of the flash, it should have the results as per screenshot below.

7. If for some reasons, the "SAS Address" displaying an error or have a "xxxxxxx-x-xxxx-xxxx" as a results, then you will need to change the address manually.

Type --> sasflash.exe -o -sasadd [your SAS Address]

Example:

sasflash.exe -o -sasadd 5001458007d1e026

8. Type --> sasflash.exe -list to confirm the changes of the "SAS Address", if the results is the same as per mine then you are good to go.

9. Reboot the computer and unplug the USB flash drive. During the normal boot-up process, you should see the new firmware version, new BIOS version and the new Mode displayed during the initialization of the HDDs.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

Proxmox : Graphics Issues During Installation

During the installation of Proxmox VE, you may or may not encounter issues with graphics card. Some graphics card tends to run at a very high resolutions thus your existing Monitor may not able to support such high resolutions.

The solutions is to run Proxmox VE installation in "Terminal Mode" and modify the boot configurations prior to the boot-up process.

1. At the Main Menu screen, select --> Install Proxmox VE (Terminal UI) and press --> E

2. Find the following line "linux" and add "nomodeset" at the end of the line.

3. Press --> [CRTL] + [X] to continue boot.

Now your display should match your monitor's supported resolutions and the installation will continue.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

Windows : DISM Error "0x800f081f"

Fixing the DISM Error "0x800f081f". Depending on what you are trying to achieve, in my case is the failure of installing .NET Framework 3.5 in Windows Server 2012 R2 Std 64-bit.

The error message :

Error: 0x800f081f The source files could not be found. Use the "Source" option to specify the location of the files that are required to restore the feature. For more information on specifying a source location, see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=243077. The DISM log file can be found at C:\Windows\Logs\DISM\dism.log

1. Check the Windows Protected files scan.

sfc /scannow

Results with error :

Beginning system scan. This process will take some time. Beginning verification phase of the system scan. Verification 100% complete. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them. Details are included in the CBS.Log windir\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For example C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. Note that logging is currently not supported in offline servicing scenarios.

2. Scan the image with dism.

dism /online /cleanup-image /scanhealth

Results with error :

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool Version: 6.3.9600.19408 Image Version: 6.3.9600.19397 [==============================100.0%============================] Error: 0x800f081f The source files could not be found. Use the "Source" option to specify the location of the files that are required to restore the feature. For more information on specifying a source location, see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=243077. The DISM log file can be found at C:\Windows\Logs\DISM\dism.log

3. Repairing the files.

dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth /source:D:\sources\install.wim /limitaccess

4. Once completed, restart the computer and proceed to install the .NET Framework 3.5

dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFX3 /All /Source:D:\sources\sxs /LimitAccess

5. Once done, restart the computer again and the new features is already installed.

!!!HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

Windows 11 : Classic Context (Right-Click) Menu

No idea what Microsoft is thinking when they designed the Windows 11 OS, the additional "clicks" required to just access the "Context (Right-Click) Menu" is so inconvenience and troublesome to Users.

To resolve this, a simple registry modification is required :-

1. Open --> regedit.exe

2. Browse --> HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID

3. Create a new "Key" --> {86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}

4. Then create a "Sub" key under the newly created key --> InprocServer32

5. Under the "InprocServer32" key, modify the string value of --> (Default) = [Blank]

Before :-

After :-

6. Once done, close all applications and restart the computer.

The old / classic context menu is now available automatically.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

Proxmox : Delete Existing HDD with Data

Sometimes we just added or swapped a faulty HDD in Proxmox, but the data that resides in that HDD is preventing Proxmox from using it.

This also happens if the HDD was previously used by another Proxmox VE server, as data inside the HDD already marked/flag with that Proxmox server.

To make use of that HDD, we need to first clear the flag.

1. Open --> Shell

2. Run the disk manager.

fdisk /dev/sda

* Assuming the device you wanted to remove the partitions is [sda].

3. It will display a list of available options, press the corresponding number (eg. Delete --> D).

4. To Save and Exit, press --> W

5. Now to remove the flags.

sgdisk --zap-all /dev/sda

6. Reboot the host server.

7. Login back Promox VE WebUI, goto --> Node --> Disk.

8. Select the HDD and click --> Wipe Disk button.

9. Then click --> Initialize GPT button.

10. Now the HDD is ready for use.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

Proxmox : Let's Encrypt SSL Certificate

How to install the FREE Let's Encrypt SSL Certificate for Proxmox VE host.

Pre-requisites.

1. Ensure that your router or firewall have port forwarding to the Proxmox VE server with the following ports :-

        a) 80/tcp

        b) 443/tcp

        c) 8006/tcp

2. You also need a valid or working email account, any free email account will work. The purpose of the email is for Let's Encrypt to send you email notification for the renewal of the SSL certificate after 90 days.

Let's Get Started.

1. Login to your Proxmox server, and select the primary host/node.

2. Browse to --> System --> Certificates.

3. Click --> Add ACME Account.

4. Fill-in the required information :-

        a) Account Name: [Any valid Name will do, such as "demouser"]

        b) E-Mail: [must be a valid email address]

5. Next, click --> Add.

        a) Challenge Type: HTTP

        b) Domain: [a valid Domain name or Dynamic Domain Name]

6. Then, click --> Order Certificates Now.

7. Once all done, close all browsers.

8. Open back the browser but this time use the new domain URL with "HTTPS" protocol, and you should now be able to see the new certificates was installed and active.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

Edit : 3-Jul-2024 : I've noticed that after installing the SSL Certificate, any new VM creation will caused the installation to failed. Unsure what is the problems, maybe VLAN issue ?

But after removing the SSL Certificate & restarted the Host server, everything seems to be working back to normal.