SOLVED SMB shares not showing in network browsing

[swbartley]

I'm running FreeNAS-11.0-RC2 and my SMB shares will not show up in my network nor will my freenas box. I can type the IP address in the address bar and it will pull up the shares and it works fine however when I close that browser window they are no longer accessible.

 

[zoomzoom]

That's almost a definite issue with Windows, not FreeNAS, as the Samba version used in FreeNAS is stable.

When you go to Windows Explorer -> Network, the FreeNAS server does not show up once Network stops loading (it could take a min or so to load all Network devices)?

• If so, go to: Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network and Sharing Center\Advanced sharing settings (paste in Windows Explorer address bar)
  • Do you have Network Detection and File and Printer sharing enabled under Private?
• [EDIT] Also, if you haven't yet added a share to the PC, the server will not show up under Network, as Network will only show devices Windows is currently connected to.

 

[Ericloewe]

tl;dr - don't expect it to work. Map it or set up a shortcut.

 

[zoomzoom]

tl;dr - don't expect it to work. Map it or set up a shortcut.

Why would you expect Network not to list a Samba server serving shares? ...That's the purpose of Network after all, to display networked devices the Windows machine is connected to. See screenshot...

If you consider 4 lines "too long", you must really hate to read...

 

[Ericloewe]

Why would you expect Network not to list a Samba server serving shares? ...That's the purpose of Network after all, to display networked devices the Windows machine is connected to.

Because NetBIOS is an unreliable piece of crap that is known not to work correctly most of the time.

 

[zoomzoom]

I hear you on that. Even with NetBIOS disabled, as long as a share has been set up, Network should still list the Samba server... or at least I thought it did (I'll have to check my PC when I get home to verify).

 

[swbartley]

Ok here's the thing I have been using server earlier versions of freenas and I have not had any issues except with this version. I was using FreeNas Corral and that even worked properly except the other major hiccups with Corral. However besides that all the other settings in windows are correct even my other devices show up so I going to say its not Windows.

 

[zoomzoom]

Add a share and it should show up...

• FreeNAS, like all Linux/BSD SMB share servers, uses Samba, and this is not an issue with Samba, it is an issue with Windows.

 

[swbartley]

Add a share and it should show up...

• FreeNAS, like all SMB share servers, use Samba, and this is not and issue with Samba, it is an issue with Windows.

I have all the shares set up and they only work when I type the IP address in the address bar which is my problem. As I mentioned in the previous post all the versions of freenas i've used before work perfectly fine and that's been about two years of freenas

 

[zoomzoom]

I have all the shares set up and they only work when I type the IP address in the address bar which is my problem.

That doesn't make sense... If you had a share added in Windows, it would either open the share or provide an error stating it couldn't communicate with the server... it would not allow you to enter an IP.

• You have to create a share in FreeNAS, then add that share in Windows.

In other words, you have not added a share in Windows. Do that, and the FreeNAS server will show up under Network

 

[swbartley]

That doesn't make sense... If you had a share added in Windows, it would either open the share or provide an error stating it couldn't communicate with the server... it would not allow you to enter an IP.

• You have to create a share in FreeNAS, then add that share in Windows.

In other words, you have not added a share in Windows. Do that, and the FreeNAS server will show up under Network

As I said it does not show up unless I type in the ip address. See the attached before and after screenshots with the shares added in freenas and yes they are browseable I typed in my username and password to get access.

 

[zoomzoom]

Again, you have not added the shares in WINDOWS.

Open Explorer, right click on a blank area, select Add a Network Location

• Browsing a server, which is what you were doing, is not the same thing, and is analogous to browsing a web page or FTP server.
• You can also map a share as a physical drive by opening Explorer, right clicking on Network, and selecting Map Network Drive

 

[swbartley]

Again, you have not added the shares in WINDOWS.

Open Explorer, right click on a blank area, select Add a Network Location

• Browsing a server, which is what you were doing, is not the same thing, and is analogous to browsing a web page or FTP server.
• You can also map a share as a physical drive by opening Explorer, right clicking on Network, and selecting Map Network Drive

I understand exactly what you meant the first time and that's a workaround. I know how to map a network because if you noticed in the screenshot drive Z is exactly what you are referring. There is something broken or a setting that needs to be configured and that's the solution I am looking for as I don't want to have to do this for every computer that needs access it's suppose to show up automatically like every other device.

 

[Ericloewe]

There is something broken

Yes, it's called NetBIOS.

 

[zoomzoom]

There is something broken or a setting that needs to be configured and that's the solution I am looking for as I don't want to have to do this for every computer that needs access it's suppose to show up automatically like every other device.

@Ericloewe said it best. In Windows, it's best to:

• add shares not as mapped drives, but as mounted folders [network share]; however, there are certain specific 3rd party software that cannot utilize a network share as storage, but can with a mapped drive (Google Drive, for example); whereas other software won't accept either (Box Sync, for example, unless the share has a NTFS file system).
  
  
• shares should be added by hostname, not IP, as an IP can change, whereas hostnames require system level access by root or sudo to change.
  • Even if utilizing static IPs, there's going to be a time when one may need to reflash firmware of the router, or may need to reset a router to default settings, in which case a hostname added share would likely still be accessible, but an IP share would likely not be.
  • Setting shares by hostname also means the share can be accessed over SSH or VPN without re-adding the share with a new IP

I've said it, what, five times now... if you add a share as a network location [i.e. not a mapped drive], it will allow you to access the share without typing in the IP. This takes all of <15s to do...

• You only need to add a single network share in order to access other shares via Network without typing in an IP/hostname.
  • If you still cannot, reboot the PC
    • If that doesn't solve it, remove the share's login credentials from Control Panel\User Accounts\Credential Manager, then re-access the network share. A login prompt will pop up, enter the username & password, tick to remember the credentials, then OK.
    
    
  • If that still does not solve it, something else is going on Windows... could be a range of things, but running dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth (internet required), reboot if anything is repaired, then running sfc /scannow, and reboot if anything is repaired, is where I'd start... or it's firewall related, likely with Windows Firewall, even if you use a third party firewall, or another networking service utilized for sharing, such as SSDP.
    • Windows Firewall controls all networking functions and traffic in Windows, which is why one should turn off Windows Firewall if running a third party firewall, but not disable the Windows Firewall service.

 

[anodos]

You should make sure that FreeNAS and the Windows client are in the same workgroup. Your windows firewall should also allow traffic over TCP/UDP 137. Do you have other samba servers on your network (pretty much any embedded file server accessible via Windows)? Are they visible via "network browsing"? Are they configured as "master browser" or "preferred master"? If you open "powershell" on your Windows client and type net view are your other devices visible or does Windows throw an error?

 

[RiBeneke]

I have just installed a new Win 10 PC on our network.
Unable to see our FreeNAS 9.10.2-U6 box.
But all the Win 7 PCs can see it as usual. FreeNAS has master browser disabled and only SMB 2 and above are enabled.
If I enable the Win 10 option (CPanel/Programs/Features) that says SMB1.0 [SMB 1.0 / CIFS and computer browser] then the Win 10 PC can see the FreeNAS box.
Maybe not only Netbios but also MS logic seems to be broken.

 

[zoomzoom]

@RiBeneke Is the PC running the Fall Creator's Update (v1709)? If so, ensure SMB Direct is enabled and disable SMB v1.0 by selecting the Automatic Removal box under it's section (or deselect it altogether). SMB 1.0 is not secure and allows a specific exploit to be performed on PCs with SMB v1.0 enabled.

• Provided one is running v1709, there should be no issue accessing FreeNAS Samba shares (I had issues with v1701, but have not since doing a clean install of v1709)

Also, ensure the following is set in /usr/local/etc/smb4.conf

• server min protocol = SMB2_10
• server max protocol = SMB3_11
• netbios name = <FreeNAS Hostname>
• workgroup = <PC/Router Workgroup>
  • Control Panel\System and Security\System --> Change Settings --> Change --> Member of Workgroup
  • For the router, the Workgroup name will the name set under Domain

 

[RiBeneke]

Thanks zoomzoom.
The Win10 was installed a few days ago by a colleague, he said it was up to date but I see it is version 1703. I expect it will update itself shortly.
I had disabled SMB 1.0 because I know it has security holes, but then had the problem unable to connect to FreeNAS. This Win 10 does not have an Automatic Removal checkbox.
The settings on FreeNAS using WebUI (Services/SMB) are as you suggest.

 

[zoomzoom]

@RiBeneke You can force the update to v1709 by navigating to Windows 10 Media Creation Tool, then selecting "Update Now".

Automatic Removal wasn't added until v1709, and Microsoft definitely did something with the code for CIFS, as I had the same issues you're experiencing before clean installing v1709.