FIXIT: Linux Client Can’t Follow Symlinks on a Samba Server

Problem:

Normally, under Windows, symbolic links on a Samba server appear as regular folders. And until recently, they appeared that way when using the Samba client on Linux machines too. A recent change in Samba has the client try to interpret the actual link, which may or may not exist on the client machine.

Example:

Server symbolic link setup:

/home/user1/shared -> /home/all
/home/user2/shared -> /home/all

Client access:

smbmount //server/share /mntpoint -o username=user password=pass
Accessing /mntpoint/shared leads to an error message that /home/all does not exist.

Solution:

Add the option nounix after -o to prevent the direct interpretation of symbolic links.

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