[SAMBA4] Tech preview update

[David Collier-Brown]

A few more comments...

| We expect that format changes will require that the user database be
| rebuilt from scratch a number of times before we make a final release,
| losing password data each time.
	Hmmn, databases are usually pretty resilient under change,
	even ones I build (;-))
	You may want to say
| before we make a final release, requiring you to export,
| edit and re-import data each time.

	This assumes, for each database type supported
	- you can import and export (;-))
	- new columns added can either be NULL
	  or populated by the person doing the
	  editing, or optionally by a program.

	The latter will probably be desirable when using
	swat to migrate from samba3 production to samba4
	in any case, so it doesn't hurt to play
	with it now. And yes, I'll happily volunteer
	to write gawk scripts to migrate databases (;-))

| File system access should occur as the logged in user, much as
| Samba3 does.
	Shouldn't that be "shall" ?

--dave

	

Andrew Bartlett wrote:
> On Thu, 2006-01-19 at 20:54 +1100, Andrew Bartlett wrote:
> 
>>On Thu, 2006-01-19 at 20:14 +1100, Brad Hards wrote:
>>
>>>On Thursday 19 January 2006 18:12 pm, Andrew Bartlett wrote:
>>>
>>>>I've attached (and committed as WHATSNEW.txt) some initial release
>>>>notes.  Comments and improvements very much welcome.
>>>
>>>Your code is better than your PR writing :-)
>>
>>That's why I've been putting it off all week :-)
>>
>>
>>>Try this version. There are a couple of places where you are trying to tell us 
>>>what new features are provided, but I don't know why that feature might be 
>>>important. Look for square brackets [ ] for things to change, but also look 
>>>for other places to explain why you spent three years working on this....
>>
>>Thank you very much.  I'll put this in, then answer the in-line
>>questions.  
> 
> 
> I've clarified a few things, how does this look?  I'm happy to take
> contributions from all comers :-)
> 
> Andrew Bartlett
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> What's new in Samba 4 Technology Preview
> ========================================
> 
> Samba 4 is the ambitious next version of the Samba suite that is being
> developed in parallel to the stable 3.0 series. The main emphasis in
> this branch is support for the Active Directory logon protocols used
> by Windows 2000 and above.
> 
> Samba 4 is currently not yet in a state where it is usable in
> production environments. Note the WARNINGS below, and the STATUS file,
> which aims to document what should and should not work.
> 
> With 3 years of development under our belt since Tridge first proposed
> a new Virtual File System (VFS) layer for Samba3 (a project which
> eventually lead to our Active Directory efforts), it was felt that we
> should create something we could 'show off' to our users.  This is a
> Technology Preview (TP), aimed at allowing users, managers and
> developers to see how we have progressed, and to invite feedback and
> support.
> 
> WARNINGS
> ========
> 
> Samba4 TP is currently a pre-alpha technology.  It may eat your cat, but
> is far more likely to choose to munch on your password database. We
> recommend against upgrading any production servers from Samba 3 to
> Samba 4 at this stage.  If you are upgrading an experimental server,
> you should backup all configuration and data.
> 
> We expect that format changes will require that the user database be
> rebuilt from scratch a number of times before we make a final release,
> losing password data each time.
> 
> Samba 4 Technology Preview includes basic Access Control List (ACL)
> protection on the main user database, but due to time constraints,
> none on the registry at this stage.  We also do not currently have
> ACLs on the SWAT web-based management tool. This means that Samba 4
> Technology Preview is not secure.
> 
> File system access should occur as the logged in user, much as Samba3
> does.
> 
> Again, we strongly recommend against use in a production environment
> at this stage.
> 
> NEW FEATURES
> ============
> 
> Samba4 supports the server-side of the Active Directory logon environment
> used by Windows 2000 and later, so we can do full domain join
> and domain logon operations with these clients.
> 
> Our Domain Controller (DC) implementation includes our own built-in
> LDAP server and Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC) as well as the
> Samba3-like logon services provided over CIFS.  We correctly generate
> the infamous Kerberos PAC, and include it with the Kerberos tickets we
> issue.
> 
> SWAT is now integrated into Samba 4 as the user-friendly interface to
> Samba server management. SWAT provides easy provides access to our
> setup and migration tools.  Using SWAT, you can migrate windows
> domains in Samba 4, allowing easy setup of initial user databases, and
> upgrades from Samba 3.
> 
> The new VFS features in Samba 4 adapts the filesystem on the server to
> match the Windows client semantics, allowing Samba 4 to better match
> windows behaviour and application expectations.  This includes file
> annotation information (in streams) and NT ACLs in particular.  The
> VFS is backed with an extensive automated test suite.
> 
> A new scripting interface has been added to Samba 4, allowing
> JavaScript programs to interface to Samba's internals.
> 
> The Samba 4 architecture is based around an LDAP-like database that
> can use a range of modular backends.  One of the backends supports
> standards compliant LDAP servers (including OpenLDAP), and we are
> working on modules to map between AD-like behaviours and this backend.
> We are aiming for Samba 4 to be powerful frontend to large
> directories.
> 
> CHANGES
> =======
> 
> Those familiar with Samba 3 can find a list of user-visible changes
> since that release series in the NEWS file.
> 
> KNOWN ISSUES
> ============
> 
> - Standalone server and domain member roles are not currently
>   supported.  While we have much of the infrastructure required, we
>   have not collected these pieces together. 
> 
> - There is no printing support in the current release.
> 
> - SWAT can be painful with <TAB> and forms.  Just use the mouse, as
>   the JavaScript layer doing this will change.
> 
> - Domain logons (using Kerberos) from windows clients incorrectly
>   state that the password expires today.
> 
> RUNNING Samba4
> ==============
> 
> A short guide to setting up Samba 4 can be found in the howto.txt file
> in root of the tarball.
> 
> DEVELOPMENT and FEEDBACK
> ========================
> Bugs can be filed at https://bugzilla.samba.org/. Please
> look at the STATUS file before filing a bug to see if a particular
> is supposed to work yet.
> 
> Development and general discussion about Samba 4 happens mainly on
> the #samba-technical IRC channel (on irc.freenode.net) and
> the samba-technical mailing list (see http://lists.samba.org/ for
> details).
> 
> 

-- 
David Collier-Brown,      | Always do right. This will gratify
Sun Microsystems, Toronto | some people and astonish the rest
davecb at canada.sun.com     |                      -- Mark Twain
(416) 263-5733 (x65733)   |