[Samba] To use or not to use winbind

[Jason A. Nunnelley]

Recap: Jeff and I are having a conversation about whether "turning off 
winbinds" is a solution for rectifying apparent conflicts with a PDC 
running winbinds.

Jeff said:

"I'm not sure what you mean when you say "Did you set it as master or 
preferred master in smb.conf".  Are you referring the the server (PDC) 
or the client (domain member server)?"

And, he sent me his this config from the Samba manual:

> passdb backend = tdbsam
> os level = 33
> preferred master = auto
> domain master = yes
> local master = yes
> security = user
> domain logons = yes

So, he concludes:

> So, yes.  I do have it (meaning the server) set as master.

Here's where I may get confused myself.  What configuration tells 
smbd/nmbd to shout to the world "Here I am!" via winbinds and what role 
should or does winbind play for a PDC?

> So obviously I have some conflict between the server winbindd and the client winbindd.

Yes, I agree with everything he said... so far.

And, to be honest I'm very new to this set of configurations and 
behaviors.  It's just my nature to ask why until I get a good answer. 
So far, the answers don't make sense to me.  Winbind is a service that 
serves a purpose in the network.  There's no reason a winbind service 
running on the PDC would in itself break clients.  That violates logic. 
  So, there must be a configuration to tell a given winbind server that 
its to submit to another, or pull records from another, or perhaps 
simply share its knowledge with others.

The question remains, what is the proper winbind configuration that 
allows winbind to do its job correctly without spewing bad information 
and corrupting winbind clients' queries about other domains?

I'm running winbind and have other groups in my network and this does 
not seem to conflict with Windows clients' ability to see the other 
networks.

Someone here is skilled at winbind configuration.  Please share your 
knowledge with us.  What is the correct way to configure winbind or 
where is the documentation that clarifies why he had this problem and 
resolved it by turning off winbind?

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Jason A. Nunnelley
JasonN.com is my website - all opinions expressed were mine at some point.