[Samba] nt migration concerns

[Gary Dale]

Joey S. Eisma wrote:

> hi!
>
> we have completed testing samba pdc on a small network using fc3. we 
> have been succesful so far. we now intend to totally replace our nt4 
> pdc with samba pdc.
>
> the following will be the main components of the network:
>
> 1. 300++ win98/2000/xx clients
> 2. win2003 db servers
> 3. terminal services with 100 clients
>
> before we shutdown the network and do the switch may i ask your inputs 
> about the following:
>
> 1. what are the catches or gotcha's that i have to anticipate?
> 2. what approach should i take before i take the leap?
> 3. do i need ldap for samba pdc?
> 4. it simpliest terms what does ldap do?
> 5. just in case can i make our current nt4.0 become bdc?
> 6. having samba pdc, is it possible to authenticate from nt 4. bdc?
> 7. any other tips?
>
>
> thank you!


2. make sure you have a working PDC and BDC. Make sure you understand 
exactly what is going on. Make sure you have your policies in place!
3. recommended, especially with the number of clients you have.
4. It allows your user information to be stored in a common, 
replicatable, format. It is not limited to NT authentication but can 
also handle Unix and Internet clients. From what I've read, it is 
preferred if you have more than a few clients.
5. Yes. Your PDC can be demoted.
6. Yes. If you read the Samba 3 documentation, Samba 3 can fully 
participate in an NT domain.
7. Go through the two Samba 3 books at www.samba.org and read them. 
Since you don't appear to have implemented LDAP yet, test that out first 
before going live.

Also, you can set up the system so that your Samba server comes in as a 
BDC before being promoted. You may want to let it serve in that role for 
a while until you're comfortable with it, then promote it.