[Samba] SMB: : ver 2.2x vs 3.0 vs tng (diff's)?

[Andrew Bartlett]

m-bruntel wrote:
> 
>   OK: First, please respond to me directly, as I'm not on the
> TNG
>  list.
> 
>   Here's the situation:
> 
>   I will be setting up a "computer lab" for 30-40 PC's with
>   various users (students).
> 
>   Here are my needs:
>   1) One Touch (point) User administration
>      (the simpler the better)

Samba + LDAP works pretty well for this.  Use nss_ldap to provide unix
accounts.

>   2) Simplest set of LINUX SW possible

Then I would *hightly* reccomend you run with Samba 2.2, as provided by
your linux distribution - or a later RPM.  

>   3) NO NT PDC
>   4) All clients are W2K.
>   5) Want to make sure clients get backed up to central servere.
>   6) Want roving profiles, so I can have users store all data
> on
>  server.
> 
>   Can I safely make the following statements?
>   Can others please comment on the validity of these statements?
> 
>   a) SAMBA 2.4 needs WinDD to allow administration of users
>      via native  NT user admin. 

No such thing sas Samba 2.4.  Samba 2.2 supports (to some degree, I
don't play with it much) usrmgr.exe.   Samba HEAD supports it pretty
well - I've been testing our PDC code with it recently.

> (not sure if I really need that..
>      I just NEED ONE LOCATION updating
>   a1) And Samba-TNG doesnt?
>   b) Samba-TNG integrates (seamlessly/natively?) with an LDAP
>      database. (Is LDAP database included in TNG?
>   c) Samba folks feel that Samba/LDAP is a better fit for user
> admin
>      than Samba/NIS.

Samba/NIS doesn't exist.  Samba has a NIS+ passdb backend, but that's
not what you want.  If you want a backend database then you want LDAP.

Samba 2.2.3 and above provide a mature, tested LDAP user database
backend in use at a large number of sites.

>   d) Samba-TNG and Samba 3.X are NOT the same product (duh,
> I knew  that
>   BUT...) What ARE the feature differences?

Mainly it's a difference in approach.

>   d1) Functionally?

Samba 2.2 and 3.0 focus primarily on providing a hightly stable File and
Print service - however that is no longer our only focus, as Samba 2.2
provides a quite usable PDC implemenation.  

Samba 3.0 (aka Samba HEAD, at least till we brance for release) adds
Unicode support to our file server, and support to act as an Acitive
Directory client.  It also provides a much more advanced PDC
functionality.  

The PDC functionality in 2.2 (and in particular 3.0) is generally beyond
what is implemented in TNG, in areas that clients *need*.  (In
particular, we support very large domains).

I don't know of any particular calls that clients need that we don't at
least implement a stub for.

The particular aim of Samba 3.0 (and the main thing blocking it's
release) is to allow it to replace an NT4 PDC compleatly.  (We have the
base technology, we just need to put it into place).

> Can someone provide me with a list of features and I will make
> everyone a compatibility/comparison chart?

We all spend too much time coding, so we never get a chance to draw
pretty pictures :-(

>   Can some folks from each side respond (I am on Samba general
> list,
>  not on TNG lists- so email me, and I will summarize to Samba
> list).
> 
>   I hope I'm not TOO off topic, but I have so much to implement
> anyway,
>  the   simplest solution here could save me SCADS of time!
> 
>   Mitch B.
> 
>   Thanks in Advance
> 
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-- 
Andrew Bartlett                                 abartlet at pcug.org.au
Manager, Authentication Subsystems, Samba Team  abartlet at samba.org
Student Network Administrator, Hawker College   abartlet at hawkerc.net
http://samba.org     http://build.samba.org     http://hawkerc.net