[Samba] Windows for Workgroups

[Michael L. Wright / System Administrator, Vashti.Net]

Hi,

The following is (myself) quoted from an exchange with the security group
about what at first appeared to be a security hole in Samba.  One of the
group suggested I ask the question here.

Can you shed some light?

Thanks!

> I recently brought up a computer (RedHat 7.2, kernel 2.4.9-31, Samba
> 2.2.1a-4), preparatory to going live with it, and mapped to a Windows For
> Workgroups (WFW) machine which runs several production Internet servers
> (believe it or not, with few problems, and for over six years now).  The
> machine on which I was seeing the errors (Samba 2.0.6 on the 2.2.15-4mdk
> kernel) has been mapped to a share on the same machine for about a year,
> again with no problems.
> 
> Apparently the newer Samba/kernel has issues with WFW such that it works for
> a while and then both Linux systems and the WFW box all become confused,
> even to the point of causing WFW to reboot.  Once this confusion sets in,
> attempts to access the share on WFW result in the messages like that
> reported below.

> > > Mar 24 10:51:21 mrserver kernel: smb_retry: signal failed, error=-3
> > > Mar 24 10:51:21 mrserver kernel: smb_retry: signal failed, error=-3
> > > Mar 24 10:51:21 mrserver kernel: smb_lookup: find //absolute failed,
> > > error=-5

> I am apparently going to have to move the software onto NT.  This is not a
> happy choice, since it may mean buying another Micro$oft license at a time
> when I'm trying to edge M$ out of my life and business.  Not to mention the
> unwanted expense.  Connectivity to older machines is _essential_ for a lot
> of us on limited budgets, and can make the difference between giving M$ the
> boot or having to continue with it.
> 
> I hope the problem is a fluke and not the result of a decision to drop
> support for these systems.  This is not the only WFW computer which is in
> use here and the prospect of being forced into unwanted upgrades is, for an
> old M$ victim, all-too-familiar.


Michael L. Wright
System Administrator, Vashti.Net

MichaelW at Vashti.Net
Voice: 850-877-0050