security=server & local smbpasswd file fallbacks?

[Axel Thimm]

security=server does delegate the authetication to the named server. This
works wuite well in our setup. I am wondering what the following log messages
may mean:

Feb 14 19:49:06 matth5 smbd[2057]: [2001/02/14 19:49:06, 0, pid=2057] passdb/smbpass.c:startsmbfilepwent_internal(87)
Feb 14 19:49:06 matth5 smbd[2057]:   startsmbfilepwent_internal: unable to open file /var/samba/private/smbpasswd. Error was No such file or directory
Feb 14 19:49:06 matth5 smbd[2057]: [2001/02/14 19:49:06, 0, pid=2057] passdb/passdb.c:iterate_getsmbpwnam(150)
Feb 14 19:49:06 matth5 smbd[2057]:   unable to open smb password database.

Why does the "client" want to look up *his own* smbpasswd file? Does the
protocol allow looking up first in a central database (security = server) and
then fall back to a local one (security = user)? Is that a feature or a bug,
i.e. should one exploit this feature perhaps?

And how do I turn off those irritating log messages? Setting smb password file
to a zero string? Or creating a zero sized smbpasswd file? (I'd prefer the
first solution, if it exists, as it is more intuitive for me.)

Regards, Axel.
-- 
Axel.Thimm at physik.fu-berlin.de