# What is Samba?

As the front page at samba.org says, “Samba is an Open Source/Free Software suite that provides seamless file and print services to <span class="caps">SMB</span>/<span class="caps">CIFS</span> clients.” Samba is freely available, unlike other <span class="caps">SMB</span>/<span class="caps">CIFS</span> implementations, and allows for interoperability between Linux/Unix servers and Windows-based clients. (stolen from [http://us4.samba.org/samba/what\_is\_samba.html](http://us4.samba.org/samba/what_is_samba.html))

Samba is a server that allows you to map from your computer to storage appliances (I.E. webspace) and work within the space as if you were working on your own computer (this includes printing, editing, dragging from your destop and dropping into the storage space). Here’s a quick tutorial about how to access SSC’s Unix server with Samba: [http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/classweb/help/samba/samba.html](http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/classweb/help/samba/samba.html)

If you’re using Samba off campus, you might need to run a <span class="caps">UCLA</span> <span class="caps">VPN</span> client prior to connecting.

Samba connection is not just limited to PC’s! Check out this article: [https://kb.ucla.edu/link/344](https://kb.ucla.edu/link/344)