Knowledge Base

Installing the SMB client components in ESX 2.X

1. Insert the ESX Server CD.
2. Log into the Service Console as root. For more information, see Unable to connect to an ESX host using Secure Shell (SSH) (1003807).
3. Mount the CD-ROM.
   
   Run mount /mnt/cdrom
   
   
4. Install the Samba client software.
   
   For example, if you are using the ESX Server 2.5.1 CD, run:
   
   
   rpm -ivh /mnt/cdrom/VMware/RPMS/samba-common-2.2.7-2.7.2.i386.rpm /mnt/cdrom/RedHat/RPMS/samba-client-2.2.7-2.7.2.i386.rpm
   
   Note: Different ESX Server builds ship SMB client RPMs with different versions and therefore slightly different names.
   
   
5. Unmount the CD.
   
   Run umount /mnt/cdrom
   
   
6. Eject the CD.

Mounting a CIFS Share on a Windows Server from the Service Console

1. Log into the Service Console as root. For more information, see Unable to connect to an ESX host using Secure Shell (SSH) (1003807).
2. Create a mount point if you do not have one already. If creating a new mount point, pick a name that is descriptive for you. Run:
   
   
   mkdir path_to_cifs_mount_point
   
   
   For example:
   [root@service_console] mkdir /mnt/CIFS
   
   
3. Mount the CIFS share. Run:
   • For ESX 2.X and ESX 3.X, type mount -t smbfs //CIFS_server/CIFS_share/path_to_cifs_mount_point -o username=username[/domain]
     
     Note: You may use a local account on the CIFS server in which case domain is not required.
     
     For example:
     [root@service_console] mount -t smbfs //cifs.vmware.com/winshare /mnt/CIFS -o username=cifsuser
     
     
   • For ESX 4.0, type mount -t cifs //CIFS_server>/CIFS_share> /path_to_cifs_mount_point> -o username=username>[/domain]
     
     Note: You may use a local account on the CIFS server in which case domain is not required. For more information about ESX 4.0, see Cannot mount Windows share in ESX 4.x with a mount_data version is not supported error (1010819). 
     
     For example:
     [root@service_console] mount -t cifs //cifs.vmware.com/winshare /mnt/CIFS -o username=cifsuser
     
     
4. To unmount the CIFS share. Run:
   
   
   umount /path_to_cifs_mount_point
   
   Note: You must be root to unmount the share. Also, if you are going to make the CIFS server unavailable for any reason, you should unmount the share first.
   
   For example:
   [root@service_console] umount /mnt/CIFS