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This content was auto-generated from Fusion SMB documentation and is pending SME review. Please verify accuracy before using in partner-facing contexts.

Demo Environment Setup

This page walks you through setting up a Fusion SMB demonstration environment for prospect meetings. The setup takes under an hour and covers installation, basic configuration, client connection, and a simple performance test.

What You'll Demonstrate

1. Installation simplicity — Fusion SMB installs as a standard Linux package
2. Quick configuration — a single INI file gets a share running in minutes
3. Client connectivity — Windows clients connect and map drives immediately
4. Performance — a live benchmark showing throughput capabilities

Prerequisites

Component	Requirement
Server	Linux machine (Ubuntu, RHEL, Rocky, etc.)
Client	Windows 10/11 or Windows Server 2016+
Network	TCP port 445 open between server and client
Storage	10 GB free disk space for test share
Package	Fusion SMB installation package (provided by Tuxera)

Network Performance

For a compelling performance demo, ensure the network between server and client can handle your target throughput. A 10 GbE connection is ideal for demonstrating Fusion SMB's speed advantage over Samba.

Step 1: Install Fusion SMB

Install Dependencies

The Fusion SMB package declares its own dependencies, so your package manager resolves them when you install it — you do not need to install a library list by hand. On Debian 12 the .deb declares libc6, libssl3, libgssapi-krb5-2, libk5crypto3, libkrb5-3, libldap-2.5-0, libsasl2-2 and lsb-base, with RDMA, Corosync, CephFS and tdb libraries as recommends.

What you install up front depends on what you are demonstrating, not on the package:

Demonstrating	Also install
Standalone server, local users	nothing beyond the package
Active Directory join	sssd, sssd-tools, adcli, krb5-user (krb5-workstation on RHEL family)
Clustering / HA	corosync, pacemaker, pcs
RDMA / SMB Direct	librdmacm1, libibverbs1

The minimum is smaller than it looks

A single-node demo needs very little. Tuxera's own container image builds from debian:12-slim plus ca-certificates and the .deb, and runs — proof that the AD, cluster and RDMA packages are situational, not prerequisites.

Install the Fusion SMB Package

Tuxera delivers Fusion SMB in three formats: a .deb, an .rpm, and a compressed archive containing the binaries plus configuration templates. The archive matters for locked-down environments where installing a distribution package is not an option.

Installing the package places eight executables on the system:

Path	Tool
/usr/sbin/tsmb-server	the SMB server daemon
/usr/bin/tsmb-cfg	runtime configuration
/usr/bin/tsmb-passwd	user and group management
/usr/bin/tsmb-status	server statistics
/usr/bin/tsmb-acls	Windows-style ACLs
/usr/bin/tsmb-privilege	Windows privileges
/usr/bin/tsmb-migrate	Samba/Winbind import
/usr/bin/tsmb-tickle-ack	cluster failover helper

You only need tsmb-server, tsmb-cfg and tsmb-passwd for this demo; the rest are covered in the Support track.

Reference: Installing Fusion SMB on docs.tuxera.com

Step 2: Configure the Server

Edit /etc/tsmb.conf with the following minimal configuration:

[global]
    # Use file-backed user database (no AD needed for demo)
    userdb_type = text
    userdb_file = /etc/tsmb-shadow

    # Runtime state directory
    runstate_dir = /var/lib/tsmb

    # Listen on all interfaces, port 445
    listen = ANY,0.0.0.0,IPv4,445,DIRECT_TCP

    # Disable clustering for single-server demo
    ca = false
    scale_out = false
[/global]

[share]
    netname = DEMO
    remark = Demo Share
    path = /export/demo
    permissions = everyone:full
[/share]

Create Required Files and Directories

# User database
sudo touch /etc/tsmb-shadow
sudo chmod 600 /etc/tsmb-shadow

# Runtime state directory
sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/tsmb

# Shared directory
sudo mkdir -p /export/demo
sudo chmod 777 /export/demo

Create a Demo User

sudo /usr/bin/tsmb-passwd -a demouser
# Enter a password when prompted

Step 3: Start the Server

For the demo, run in the foreground to show log output:

sudo /usr/sbin/tsmb-server

For background operation:

sudo /usr/sbin/tsmb-server -B

Step 4: Connect from Windows

1. Press Win+R and enter \\<server-ip> (e.g., \\10.210.0.3)
2. Authenticate with the demouser credentials
3. Right-click the DEMO share and select Map network drive...
4. Assign drive letter Z: and click Finish

Verify access by creating files and folders on the mapped drive.

Step 5: Run a Performance Benchmark

This step demonstrates Fusion SMB's throughput using industry-standard tools.

Network Baseline with iperf

On the server:

iperf -s

On the client (PowerShell):

iperf.exe -c <server-ip> -t 30

Record the network throughput — this is your ceiling for SMB performance.

SMB Throughput with fio

On the client, install fio for Windows, then create a test file on the mapped drive (Z:\test.fio):

[sequential-write]
rw=write
size=1G
direct=1
directory=/data
numjobs=5
group_reporting
name=sequential-write-direct
bs=8192k
runtime=60

[sequential-read]
rw=read
size=1G
direct=1
directory=/data
numjobs=5
group_reporting
name=sequential-read
bs=8192k
runtime=60

Create the data directory on the share, then run:

fio Z:\test.fio --output=results.txt

Compare the SMB throughput against the iperf baseline. Fusion SMB should approach network line rate.

Demo Talking Points

During the demonstration, highlight these points:

• Installation footprint — minimal dependencies, no complex setup
• Configuration clarity — single INI file, human-readable
• Time to first share — under 10 minutes from package install to client connection
• Performance — show the fio numbers against the iperf baseline
• CLI management — demonstrate tsmb-cfg for runtime changes without restart

Live CLI Demo

While the server is running, add a second share without restarting:

sudo tsmb-cfg share add -n PROJECTS -p /export/projects

Show the new share appearing immediately on the Windows client.

Cleanup

After the demo:

# Stop the server (if running in foreground, press Ctrl+C)
# Remove demo data
sudo rm -rf /export/demo /export/projects
sudo rm /etc/tsmb-shadow

Next Steps

• PoC Guide — extend this setup with Active Directory and production-grade security
• Technical Overview — review the full feature inventory
• Full quickstart guide at docs.tuxera.com

✍Knowledge Check

1. What user database type is used for a standalone demo (no AD)?

2. What is the primary configuration file for Fusion SMB?

3. How can you add a new share at runtime without restarting the server?