[Samba] Samba newbie question...

[Robert Adkins]

John,

	It was initially confusing to see the smb.conf file drastically changed   
from what I had been used to seeing when I opened it up in my favorite   
CLI editor. To me, that was "mangled", I should have clarified that a bit   
better.

	I do understand the need to have as small a smb.conf file as possible   
for optimized performance. However, it was a spot annoying to skim   
through the file and find things moved all around on me.

	Perhaps it is my dislike of having things optimized/configured/altered   
without being asked. (Which is a big part of my dislike for MS Server and   
Desktop products and I am sure that is something most other people   
dislike too.)

	What I would really like to see is a button that states, "If you click   
this, SWAT will optimize your smb.conf file. Doing so will alter the   
appearance, placement of options and remove all notes and documentation   
from the SWAT file. If you have already removed the documentation and   
have structured the smb.conf file to your liking, you might not wish to   
click this. Of course, doing so could quite possibly improve the   
performance of your Samba install, especially if you have hundreds of   
users."

	Having something like the above would be a very nice touch. I know that   
it would have eased my mind to have known, or had a hand in optimizing my   
smb.conf file. It just didn't sit right with me to see the file so   
drastically altered from what I had seen previously.

	I haven't checked the wizard options in Samba 2.2.6 or 2.2.7. In at   
least the 2.2.5 release of Samba, the only method I clearly saw to   
configure a PDC was by manually editing the smb.conf file. Which isn't a   
problem, however, it can be a little easier to see all of the PDC options   
right there in front of you, within a GUI tool.

	I will be upgrading to Samba 2.2.7 very soon. I just need to perform   
some testing to make sure that the transition will be very smooth for my   
network. When I am able to focus on testing 2.2.7, I will take a look at   
the wizard option and I will be able to offer some opinions.

	Sorry if I wasn't as clear as I could have been previously.

Regards,
Robert Adkins II
IT Manager/Buyer
Impel Industries, Inc.
Ph. 586-254-5800
Fx. 586-254-5804


 -----Original Message-----
From: John H Terpstra [mailto:jht at samba.org]
Sent: Monday, November 25, 2002 5:27 PM
To: samba at lists.samba.org; Robert Adkins
Cc: daveman at bellatlantic.net; samba at lists.samba.org
Subject: RE: [Samba] Samba newbie question...

   

On Mon, 25 Nov 2002, Robert Adkins wrote:

> John,
>
> 	One thing that I would love to see in Swat would be an area to   
configure
> a PDC and or a BDC (For another Samba PDC.)

Do you mean just to build an smb.conf file that will NOT be in use on the
machine you ran SWAT on?

Have you checked the Wizard option in samba-2.2.6/2.2.7? Opinions?
Recommendations?

>
> 	The only other thing that I would like to see is that SWAT leaves the
> smb.conf file in some kind of structured state. I was left with a   
working
> smb.conf file, but it was mangled and I had some issues with seeing   
where
> SWAT moved some of my settings.

Please help me to understand what you mean by "mangled" and "structured".

Have you used 'testparm' to validate you smb.conf file. It produces all
output in the internal structure SWAT will use to re-write the optimized
smb.conf file.

>
> 	All Domain related flags in one section (perhaps flagged DOMAIN
> Components)
>
> 	I really would just like to see all of the flags for a related section
> broken up from a looooong listing of all the flags and separated with
> some kind of identifier. (It doesn't have include documentation.) In
> fact, I removed all the documentation in the smb.conf file I created   
and
> just left the parts broken up in my own file.

Why is this needed? You can always use 'testparm' to output all options
and their settings. Why not keep smb.conf as a fully optimised file with
only settings that differ from the samba default?

>
> 	Perhaps SWAT could include a little check box to optimize the file,
> removing all non-essential text and putting everything into a single   
list
> and perhaps have another that will break up the list into logical
> sections. It makes it much easier for trouble-shooting from afar if you
> need to ssh into the server.

I understand what you are trying to do, why is this better than using
'testparm'?

I want to understand the thinking behind you suggestion, not criticize   
it.

Cheers,
John T.
 ---
John H Terpstra
Email: jht at samba.org

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