[Samba] Using separate packages for a DC

[Rowland Penny]

On 01/02/2023 11:40, miguel medalha via samba wrote:
> 
>>>> It certainly would be nice to have distinct 'smb.conf' and 'samba.conf' files.
>>>> Each one would have its own manual page containing only the parameters that apply to each case, AD DC and regular file server.
>>>> The current situation, mixing parameters that apply and don't apply to a DC is somewhat confusing to many users.
>>>
>>> A transition period could be implemented, during which the 'samba' daemon would read its configuration from both 'samba.conf' and 'smb.con',
>>> in this order of preference, until at a certain point the use of 'smb.conf' by the AD DC would be discontinued.
> 
>> I cannot ever see this gaining traction, for one, how long would the
>> transition period be ? To give some context to this, Samba has some
>> deprecations going back years.
> 
> I don't see any big disadvantage in implementing a transition period. Things will never get better if we fear a temporary inconvenience. It's simple: if there's a 'samba.conf' file present, use it, otherwise revert to 'smb.conf'. Which problems would you expect from this?
> 
> Anyway, it was just an idea, make with it what you think is better. I noticed, by the answers to this mailing list, that there is some confusion about which parameters should be used on an AD DC and which ones should not.
> 
> 
> 

As I pointed out, Samba deprecate things but then never removes them, 
this is because they are in use by 'somebody' and they will complain if 
it is removed.

The problem with parameters being used on a DC that shouldn't be, is 
usually caused by people not reading the Samba documentation, or if they 
do read the wiki, they totally miss that if you are using a DC as a 
fileserver (not recommended), you MUST set the permissions from Windows.

Rowland