Network Shares (SMB)

The Network (SMB) device (smb:) opens shared folders on a Windows PC, a Samba server or a NAS over SMB2 or SMB3. Older servers that only speak SMB1 are opened as Network (SMB1) (smb1:). Shares are listed in a text file, SMB2.CNF. Not yet tested on a console.

How it works

Nothing touches the network until you open the device. The first time, Launchstation starts the network with the address in IPCONFIG.DAT, loads the SMB driver and connects every share for that device in SMB2.CNF. smb:/ then lists one folder per connected share, named by its NAME: smb:/PC, smb:/NAS. smb1:/ is the top of its one share.

A share that does not connect is left out of smb:/, and the browser says why (for example PC (line 7): Could not connect: check the address, share, user name and password). Opening the device again tries the failed shares again, at most every 30 seconds, because an unanswered connect can take that long. When no share is connected, SMB2.CNF is read again first, so a corrected file is used without restarting.

When at least one share connects, the browser and the device card show how many are connected, not which one failed. If a share is missing from smb:/, check its address, share name, user name and password in SMB2.CNF, then open smb: again to retry it. A file changed on a PC while another share is connected is read again after a restart, or after opening it once through Settings > Network; either way a share that is already connected keeps its old address and credentials until the console restarts.

SMB2.CNF

Launchstation uses the first SMB2.CNF it finds:

1. beside the running ELF (for example mc0:/APPS/SMB2.CNF for mc0:/APPS/BOOT.ELF);
2. SYS-CONF/SMB2.CNF on the memory card Launchstation was started from;
3. SYS-CONF/SMB2.CNF on the other memory card.

That is where IPCONFIG.DAT is looked for too. Each line is KEY = value. Each share is the group of keys that ends with its URL, so URL comes last in each group.

• Keys can be in any case. Spaces and tabs around a value are removed, so a password cannot start or end with a space.
• Lines starting with # or ; are comments. A line without = is skipped; the rest of the file is still read. Unknown keys are ignored.
• A value that is too long is not cut short: the share is refused, and the browser names the share, its line and the key. Lengths are in bytes; each ASCII character is one byte.
• If the only VERSION = 1 share is refused this way, Network (SMB1) does not appear, so there is nowhere to show the error: correct SMB2.CNF and restart Launchstation, which reads the file at startup.
• Use the server’s IP address. SMB1 requires one; for SMB2/SMB3 host names are untested.
• The user name goes in USERNAME, not in the URL. A path after the share name is ignored: the share’s folder opens at the top of the share.
• Up to 8 shares are read. Only one SMB1 share can be used, because the SMB1 driver keeps a single connection.

# A shared folder "PS2" on a Windows PC, as smb:/PC
NAME = PC
USERNAME = player
PASSWORD = secret
URL = smb://192.168.0.10/PS2

# The "games" share of a NAS, as smb:/NAS
NAME = NAS
USERNAME = ps2
PASSWORD = n4s-pa55word
URL = smb://192.168.0.20/games

# An old server that only speaks SMB1, as smb1:/
NAME = OLDBOX
VERSION = 1
URL = smb://192.168.0.30/PS2SMB

Network (SMB1) appears in the device list only when SMB2.CNF has a VERSION = 1 share. The file is read once at startup, which reads no network.

What you can do

• Browse, copy, rename, make and delete folders inside a share. A listing that fails part-way is an error, not a partial list. File dates and attributes are not set on the server (the SMB2 driver has no way to).
• Nothing can be made in smb:/ itself: it only lists the connected shares. Rename works inside one share.
• Launch an ELF from a share, as from udpfs:. Not yet tested.
• PS2 ISO games through Neutrino: install the latest complete upstream nightly on a local device, then open the ISO. Launchstation maps the selected share and credentials from SMB2.CNF into config/bsd-smb.toml and launches -bsd=smb -dvd=smb:<path within the share>. Neutrino resets the IOP and opens its own session. See Neutrino SMB.
• POPStarter VCDs and Ember images: Launchstation has no SMB handoff for these cores.

Stack rules

• SMB uses the same Ethernet stack as FTP, PS2Link and Google Drive, so they can be used together. UDPFS uses a different one: opening SMB after UDPFS (or the other way) resets the IOP, and copying between udpfs: and smb: is refused (“Incompatible drivers to perform action”).
• SMB uses DEV9: it does not start while PC CARD CF owns the bus, and copying between SMB and PC CARD CF is refused.
• SMB needs the current Ethernet drivers. With Legacy Ethernet drivers on, the device says so and does not start.
• The SMB2 driver uses about 140 KB of IOP memory once loaded.

Troubleshooting

1. “No SMB2.CNF found”. Put the file beside Launchstation or in mc0:/SYS-CONF/, then open the device again.
2. “Could not connect”. Check the server’s IP address, the share name, the user name and password, that the PS2 is in the server’s subnet, and that the server allows SMB2 (Windows: the share is reached with an account that has a password).
3. SMB1: “Server does not speak SMB1” or “Server did not answer”. Windows 10 and later turn SMB1 off; use SMB2 (leave VERSION out) unless the server is really SMB1-only.
4. SMB1: “User name or password refused” also appears when the server only accepts clear-text passwords. Launchstation does not send a password in the clear unless the share has PLAINTEXT = 1. Better: turn on encrypted passwords on the server (Samba: encrypt passwords = yes). With PLAINTEXT = 1, anyone on the network who can see the traffic, or pose as the server, can read the password, so use it only on a network you trust and with a password used nowhere else. A server that takes encrypted passwords still gets the encrypted form.
5. “The SMB driver could not be loaded”. The IOP may be short of memory with many other drivers loaded; use Tools > Reboot IOP and open the share first.

The smb: device and the SMB2.CNF format come from Ronnie Sahlberg’s work for saildot4k’s upstream launcher, using the SMB2 driver from libsmb2. SMB1 uses jimmikaelkael’s smbman from ps2sdk, with Open-PS2-Loader’s fixes. See Credits.