Few of us are lucky enough to work in a pure Linux environment. If you are, you can file this article under "Something for the future" because it doesn’t apply to you — for now. Samba is the Windows interoperability suite for Linux and Unix environments. It applies to those of you who work in a heterogeneous environment that might include Linux, Unix, Windows, macOS, and who knows what else.
Samba uses the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol, which is used by Windows systems to communicate with each other. Using Samba, you can have your Linux systems map drives to Windows systems, and you can have Windows systems map drives to Linux systems — though, the latter is far more likely.
You see, Samba lets you mimic file and print services on a Linux system. You might not have a full appreciation of what such a system can do for you, but in short, using Samba lets you create a Linux-based file and print server, potentially saving you money and allowing for easier administration.
More info at Windows and Linux interoperability: A look at Samba
Got Windows? It’s time to talk about Samba, an easy to implement and free to use interoperability suite.