To release Samba 4.0 'as is'

[Jeremy Allison]

On Tue, Nov 22, 2011 at 05:13:16PM +1100, Andrew Bartlett wrote:
> I would like to propose that we proceed to making a pre-release of Samba
> 4.0 in the next month (ie, before Christmas), and that we propose to
> release Samba 4.0 'as is' regarding major features.
> 
> To be clear, I propose that the DNS server work continue, and we seek a
> resolution of the best approach here over the time between now and a
> release, but we do not block a release on this point.  (I am confident
> however that those involved will have a good solution, and even the
> current flat file is clearly good enough for our many users). 
> 
> I also propose that we do not make the major architectural changes
> between now and the release to change file server or winbind
> implementations for the AD DC.  Instead, we continue to build on the
> massive efforts already made here over the next few months, but we will
> not change the default behaviour for a 4.0 release.
> 
> This will give the vendors (Univention and Resara) and our numerous
> users who are building on top of Samba 4.0 alpha releases a stable
> release to move to, based on the current architecture, before we make
> the change to a common file server for Samba 4.1.  
> 
> This will mean we continue to ship smbd, nmbd, winbindd, samba etc as
> found in the current alpha releases. 
> 
> With this plan, and with the quality brought about by our continuous
> integration approach, I think we can make a Samba 4.0 release in a
> reasonable time-frame, perhaps with a final release in about three
> months time.  
> 
> I do wish to be clear that I'm certainly not abandoning the idea of a
> single file server, and I know many others on the team have also
> invested great amounts of their own time in this effort.  It is
> important not only for NAS vendors who wish to add AD to the NAS (an
> idea I raise with every NAS vendor I get the chance to speak to), but
> also our users who still regularly ask for a combined release with the
> AD server, file server and print server all present in the same runtime
> installation.  
> 
> What do others think?

-1. We can't do this. It isn't an integrated product yet,
it's just a grab bag of non-integrated features.

Without proper design and code to implement the source3
fileserver, winbind and nmbd integration we simply don't
have a finished product. The integrated fileserver is a
MUST HAVE for a 4.0 release.

Rightly or wrongly Samba4 is seen as the replacement
for Samba3. If you ship what you have now you put the
Team members who support OEM fileservers in an incredibly
difficult position w.r.t. marketing and communications
with our customers, not to mention the Linux distros.

Don't just ship whatever you have out the door, you need
to produce a plan to finish the missing features, and
create bug reports to track them.

If you want to split the codebase and Team efforts completely,
releasing an unfinished Samba4 is an excellent way to do it.

Jeremy.