Is there a "correct" way to add a service file (e.g. I want to add a timemachine.service file in /tmp/avahi/services)

[iTyPsIDg]

I understand wanting to use the GUI. Did you try creating the users using /opt/bin/smbpasswd -a [User]?

I think if your smbpasswd in /opt/etc/samba doesn't exist, you will run into problems.

 

[ColinTaylor]

I think I can finally turn NETBIOS back off now.

I've lost track of this discussion. Turn NETBIOS off where?

 

[Jeffrey Young]

I understand wanting to use the GUI. Did you try creating the users using /opt/bin/smbpasswd -a [User]?

I think if your smbpasswd in /opt/etc/samba doesn't exist, you will run into problems.

I pointed Samba to the password location that the router uses via the SMB.conf file.

Been a bit of an education on how Asus is doing Samba (stripped down binary that has smbd, nmbd, and smbpassword all wrapped into one). From what I read, it was an OpenWRT initiative. So the bind mount is out as smbd, nmbd, and smbpassword are all symbolic links to that samba_multicall binary.

Anyway, I had a few unexpected hours to work on it last night. I always wanted to fool around with. This just gave the excuse. It worked good until I rebooted the router. Anyway, in the fall maybe I will give it another crack. Internet is barely usable on a tiny phone at camp.

Still like the idea of managing the user's from the GUI.

 

[Jeffrey Young]

I think I broke Colin

I've lost track of this discussion. Turn NETBIOS off where?

I think I broke Colin!

Sorry @ColinTaylor

 

[iTyPsIDg]

I've lost track of this discussion. Turn NETBIOS off where?

I turned that off in /opt/etc/samba/smb.conf; however, every time I think I get it working, it seems to only last so long before it goes back to removing the mDNS services.

   # -------------------------------------------------------------------
   # Turn off legacy NetBIOS altogether (no UDP/137,138 traffic)      
   # We only use SMB2/3 over TCP (port 445) on macOS & Win11          
   # -------------------------------------------------------------------
   disable netbios        = yes                                        
   name resolve order     = host

I tried some changes to Diversion now, but I need to try a router reboot to see if it sticks. For about an hour, I had really good luck downgrading from WPA3 to WPA2, then that eventually dropped. I'm getting to the point where I don't really care TOO much because it works, it just doesn't broadcast in Finder consistently.

EDIT: Diversion was blocking:

b._dns-sd._udp.MY_LAN_DOMAIN.internal
db._dns-sd._udp.MY_LAN_DOMAIN.internal
lb._dns-sd._udp.MY_LAN_DOMAIN.internal

 

[ColinTaylor]

I turned that off in /opt/etc/samba/smb.conf; however, every time I think I get it working, it seems to only last so long before it goes back to removing the mDNS services.

   # -------------------------------------------------------------------
   # Turn off legacy NetBIOS altogether (no UDP/137,138 traffic)     
   # We only use SMB2/3 over TCP (port 445) on macOS & Win11         
   # -------------------------------------------------------------------
   disable netbios        = yes                                       
   name resolve order     = host

I see. Browsing of SMB shares is not supported in SMB2/3. That's why the router also runs wsdd2. Not sure if that helps Mac users or not.

I tried some changes to Diversion now, but I need to try a router reboot to see if it sticks. For about an hour, I had really good luck downgrading from WPA3 to WPA2, then that eventually dropped. I'm getting to the point where I don't really care TOO much because it works, it just doesn't broadcast in Finder consistently.

EDIT: Diversion was blocking:

b._dns-sd._udp.MY_LAN_DOMAIN.internal
db._dns-sd._udp.MY_LAN_DOMAIN.internal
lb._dns-sd._udp.MY_LAN_DOMAIN.internal

Strange. Not sure why Diversion would be blocking anything, especially as those look like mDNS names rather than DNS names.

 

[iTyPsIDg]

Yeah, at this point the fact that Time Machine consistently works without any extra steps even after sleeping makes me happy. I would like the shares to show up in Finder with the icons I've chosen, but that is eye candy and I don't think I care that much. I've spent so long chasing getting it to work that I'm losing interest. It's just weird that they show up correctly when I'm connected to the LAN or Guest Network. Although, who knows how long that lasts. I usually don't stay connected to them that long. I may need to try staying connected for hours to see if it stays up.

Guest network for 1.5 hours (since 13:57 - Everything before that was lots of switching between main and Guest wifi networks with no LAN):

Command on the Mac: dns-sd -B _device-info._tcp
Same for _adisk._tcp:

And _smb._tcp:

Nice icons and easy browsing: