How can I make a linux samba server to announce itself on the local LAN via Bonjour to Mac clients?

I have a Debian Linux based file-server using Samba and nowadays being accessed successfully by Mac OS X clients..

I'd like this resource to be available in a more user friendly way, by means of Bonjour.

Is it possible, to configure the Linux server, so that it announces itself on the local network, via Bonjour? And if so, how?

Solution 1:

Create a file /etc/avahi/services/samba.service:

<?xml version="1.0" standalone='no'?><!--*-nxml-*-->
<!DOCTYPE service-group SYSTEM "avahi-service.dtd">
<service-group>
    <name replace-wildcards="yes">%h filer</name>
    <service>
        <type>_smb._tcp</type>
        <port>139</port>
    </service>
</service-group>

Then restart avahi:

service avahi restart

Solution 2:

Nowadays, port 445 is used. So the config file should look like this:

root:~# cat /etc/avahi/services/samba.service 
<?xml version="1.0" standalone='no'?><!--*-nxml-*-->
<!DOCTYPE service-group SYSTEM "avahi-service.dtd">

<service-group>
  <name replace-wildcards="yes">%h</name>
  <service>
    <type>_smb._tcp</type>
    <port>445</port>

  </service>
</service-group>

Solution 3:

You need to install Ahavi, which is a free ZeroConf (Bonjour) implementation. After that's done, see:

Setup Samba for Bonjour networking with OS X 10.5 Leopard