Cross-subnet browsing

[Paul L. Lussier]

Hi all,

I'm fighting with cross-subnet browsing with the samba PDC I'm trying to set 
up.  I've got all the settings in the smb.conf set correctly, I think my 
problem lies in not completely understanding how browsing really works and how 
domain logins are related.

In my current environment, the domain we log into is controlled from an NT PDC 
outside of my facility.  Directed broadcasts are not enabled on any of the 
routers here, and there are no wins servers on any of the subnets within the 
building.  Yet domain logins work fine, as do browsing the domain.

My assumption as to why this all worked, was that each win95 client uses DHCP 
to boot and is handed both a primary and secondary WINS server IP address.  
This would allow the booting clients to identify which system was the domain 
logon system, log onto the domain, then browse the domain.

So, I set up my Samba PDC and got everything working while the client was 
connected to the same subnet.  I could log onto my new domain, run the logon 
script, and browse the server in Network Neighborhood.  

When I moved my client to a different subnet, things broke.  I have the client 
settings all set up correctly.  The Samba PDC is also the master browser, etc.,
and the client has the IP address of the server as it's primary WINS server.
Yet, now I can't even log into the domain. I get the "No domain server was 
found to authenticate you" error.

Obviously all the docs state that you need to have local browse masters on 
each subnet to sync with the PDC, etc.  But my question is why does this work 
in the "NT" domain but not in the "Samba" domain?  Am I misinterpreting the 
meaning of the client "Primary WINS Server" setting?  Is there something else 
I'm missing, or is there something fundamentally different wrt the way NT and 
Samba deal with cross-subnet browsing?

I'd like to be able to do this without needing a WINS server on every subnet.
Since the IS group is doing this with their NT PDC for their domain, shouldn't 
I be able to accomplish the same thing with Samba?

Here's the configuration I have so far wrt the browsing options:

	os level = 33
	domain master = yes
	local master = yes
	preferred master = yes
	wins support = yes


Thanks for any clarification anyone can provide.  

-- 

Seeya,
Paul
----
plussier at baynetworks.com
Broadband Technology Division - Bay Networks (now a Nortel Company, Eh? :)

	If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right!