[Samba] Understanding Samba 4's features and goals

[Thomas Boutell]

Hi folks,

I'm the co-author of "Windows and Linux Integration," a recent
Sybex/Wiley title. So I'm very much interested in what's coming
next in the Samba world. And I've been watching the Samba 4
'technology releases" with interest.

One nifty feature that I like a lot: the old options that specified
many confusing types of server behavior have been replaced with a
"role" option. That makes total sense to me.

Here's what doesn't make sense to me, though: this option has
"PDC" and "BDC" settings, among others. But my understanding of
the Active Directory world is that it is a "multimastering"
environment, in which updates can be made on *any* DC and will
be replicated correctly to the other DCs in the domain. There
is therefore no PDC/BDC distinction.

So, the big questions:

1. Will Samba 4 support multimastering, AD-style, with no BDCs?
2. Can the other masters run Windows AD, or must they also run Samba 4?
3. If not, what is offered in place of these features?

Thanks for any light you can shed on the matter. And thanks, as
always, for a fantastic set of tools.

--
Thomas Boutell
Boutell.Com, Inc. 
http://www.boutell.com/