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Why Samba is one of my favorite Linux apps
Dec. 21, 2005

One of my favorite open-source applications is Samba. For me, it, and not Apache, is the Linux "killer" server app that I use all the time.

That's because at my home office -- with its score of PCs and half-dozen servers -- I run a mix of servers running Linux, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003. I also consult from time to time, and most of my work is with similar networks or Windows networks on their way to becoming Linux server-based LANs.

For these situations, Samba is invaluable.

With my networking background, which goes all the way back to 3Com LANs and Unix networks in the '80s, I don't find the complexities of integrating Samba into NT style domains and AD (Active Directory) to be that much trouble.

Most people don't have that kind of background. You're much more likely to know either Unix-style networking or the Windows version, but not both.

That's why I'm strongly recommending that anyone who's not already an expert at bridging the Linux-Windows gap give John H. Terpstra's recent story on Managing Samba-3.0.21: The pdbedit utility a close read.

Pdbedit, for those who don't know it, is a root-level program you can use to manage account security and policy settings across a domain. In particular, if you're using Samba as a PDC (primary domain controller), pdbedit is a must-use utility.

For more on how to put it to good use, I recommend Samba network administrators to just bookmark Terpstra's story now. You're going to be visiting it often.

If you want to know just some of the basics of moving from Windows networking to Samba, may I recommend some older stories of mine?

The first is an introduction to Samba 3 and the other is a quick how-to on using Samba 3 with links to some of the basic, must-read Samba administration articles.

Enjoy!

--Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols


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