[Samba] How SMB client recognizes when to use PDC or BDC

[Gaiseric Vandal]

It seems that the nature of the XP client is to use the BDC if 
available.     You could try modifying the priority by adjusting the 
folloing

     announce version
     os level

though to be honest I never got that to work for me.   (I have a samba 
3.0.x PDC and BDC and a samba 3.4.x BDC and I did NOT want the 3.4.x 
machine being the preferred one.)

If you are not using WINS,  the XP client should broadcast for a logon 
controller and only find local machines.   I have not run samba DC's in 
multiple locations.    I have with NT4 servers, which support WINS 
replication.   I wish samba did as well.   If you do use WINS,  you 
would probably want to make sure that you don't have a XP client using a 
WINS server in another site.       If both machines are WINS servers for 
the local clients you may have to edit an lmhosts file to tell each DC 
about other DC's on the WAN.  Alternately you may want to make the BDC 
in the remote office a WINS client of the PDC in the main office.



The other approach may be to have separate domains for each office and 
set up trusts.    Each machine could be a WINS server if you used 
LMHOSTS files to tell each server about the other.





On 01/08/10 10:02, Marcin Giedz wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Maybe this was asked many time (although can't find it on google). Let's
> assume 2 scenarios:
> 1) I've got local network where PDC and BDC are set up. PDC is working
> fine so the BDC is. When it's possible for any XP client to use BDC
> instead of PDC? I read in samba docs that if PDC is slow client can use
> BDC - but what does it mean slow for the client? How the client knows
> what "slow" is? Can Windows client measure "some kind of ping response"
> from PDC/BDC?
> 2) But if I have 2 offices: first one HQ has PDC installed and branch
> has BDC. How branches clients know to use BDC and not PDC?
>
> I tried and read Network Browsing on samba doc web but this issue isn't
> still clear to me. Can some please explain me how this works in Samba 
> env?
>
> Thanks,
> Marcin
>
>
>