VFS_CEPH(8)

💖 VFS_CEPH 💖

okay bestie, pull up a chair because we're talking about vfs_ceph(8) — that's volume 8 of the manual, the System Administration tools section, and yes she's a Samba girlie. this one lets your Samba server talk directly to CephFS and honestly? iconic behavior. ✨

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🌸 NAME 🌸

vfs_ceph — utilize features provided by CephFS 🦋

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

vfs objects = ceph

that's it. that's the whole vibe. one line and she's serving. 💅

👑 DESCRIPTION 👑

so, this VFS module is part of the samba(8) suite, right? part of the family, no cap. 🫶

the vfs_ceph VFS module exposes CephFS-specific features for use by Samba. it's giving "let Samba see what Ceph can do."

Ceph is a distributed network file system built to deliver excellent performance, reliability, and scalability — literally the triple threat. and this right here is a shared library that lets applications access a Ceph distributed file system through a POSIX-like interface. POSIX but make it distributed. 🌈

now, important part, don't skip: this module can be combined with other modules, BUT it should be the last module in the vfs objects list. anything you add to that list to the right of the ceph entry may not have any effect at all. like, zero. nothing. ghosted. 💀 so put her last, periodt.

vfs_ceph performs mapping between Windows and POSIX Access Control Lists (ACLs). and to make sure POSIX ACLs are correctly processed and enforced, these Ceph configuration parameters get applied automatically, no notes needed:

client acl type = posix_acl
fuse default permissions = false

slay. automatic. 😌

🎀 CONFIGURATION 🎀

vfs_ceph requires that the underlying share path is a Ceph filesystem. like, that's the whole prerequisite bestie, no workarounds.

[share]
vfs objects = ceph
path = /non-mounted/cephfs/path
kernel share modes = no

now here's the tea: since vfs_ceph does not require a filesystem mount, the share path is treated differently — it gets interpreted as an absolute path within the Ceph filesystem on the attached Ceph cluster. so don't come at her with mount points, she doesn't need them. 🙈

in a ctdb cluster environment where ctdb manages Samba, you must configure CTDB_SAMBA_SKIP_SHARE_CHECK=yes to disable local share path checks. otherwise ctdb will not reach a healthy state. not "might not", will not. so set it. please. 💀

⚠️ also note that currently kernel share modes have to be disabled in a share running with the CephFS vfs module for file serving to work properly. that's just where we're at right now.

💅 OPTIONS 💅

• ceph:config_file = path — lets you define a ceph configfile to use. empty by default. 🍓 Example: ceph:config_file = /etc/ceph/ceph.conf
• ceph:user_id = name — lets you explicitly set the client ID used for the CephFS mount handle. empty by default, which means it uses the libcephfs client default. 🧚 Example: ceph:user_id = samba
• ceph:filesystem = fs_name — lets you explicitly select the CephFS file system to use when the Ceph cluster supports more than one file system. empty by default, which means it uses the default file system of the Ceph cluster. 💜 Example: ceph:filesystem = myfs2

⭐ VERSION ⭐

this man page is part of version 4.24.7-Ubuntu-4.24.7+dfsg-1ubuntu1 of the Samba suite. yes, that's a lot of numbers, she's specific. 🔥

💖 AUTHOR 💖

the original Samba software and related utilities were created by Andrew Tridgell. Samba is now developed by the Samba Team as an Open Source project similar to the way the Linux kernel is developed. legends only, honestly. 👑

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and that's the whole page bestie! 💖 this one ships out under Samba 4.24.7-Ubuntu-4.24.7+dfsg-1ubuntu1, dated 09/13/2026 — go forth, mount nothing, and put ceph last in your vfs objects list. mwah. 🎀🦋✨