[Samba] XP + SP2 + DFS + netbios alias = not working

[Mac]

Hi all,

	I'm using Samba 3.0.6 (on IRIX 6.5).

This is just a 'let you know what I've discovered' message really.


I've just installed upgrade a laptop here to SP2 of Windows XP.  It then
started failing to make network connections.

After much fiddling about, I tracked it down to DFS shares.  This PC can
now connect to the DFS root OKay, but doesn't recognise the entries in
it as DFS 'pointers'.  (Right-click, Properties on a DFS link would
normally show the Target in a 'DFS' tab on the Properties dialog).


Even more fiddling about proved that it was only when I accessed the
Samba server by using a 'netbios alias' (as configured in the smb.conf)

i.e.
	\\net\user\files	didn't work (not recognised as DFS)
but
	\\oxysig\user\files	works fine

(server's netbios name is 'oxysig', and 'net' is one (of several)
netbios aliases)


This laptop connected very happily to the DFS shares before SP2, and my
dekstop machine (still SP1) connects happily too.

As a workaround I've set 'smb ports = 139' which seems to solve the
problem.

I've found very few references to post-SP2 problems with DFS.  The one I
did find (MS article KB884020) isn't relevant as the shares aren't on
the client.

Another article [1] mentioned setting "EnableDfsLoopbackTargets"=dword:00000001 
in the registry.  This seemed to make no difference to my situation, but
again I think that's because the shares aren't on the client.


I'm not really looking for a solution here.  And I've no idea whether
this is a Samba-specific problem.  If anyone has any insights, or would
like more info, I can generate log files and packet captures if that
would help.

                               Mac
          Assistant Systems Adminstrator @nibsc.ac.uk
                        dmccann at nibsc.ac.uk
   Work: +44 1707 641565          Everything else: +44 7956 237670 (anytime)