[Samba] samba-ad-dc from debian backports fails to start with /usr/sbin/samba missing

[Michael Tokarev]

04.07.2024 21:27, Paul Leiber via samba wrote:
> Dear Samba list,
> 
> I have a Samba instance running as an ad-dc on debian bullseye. Some time ago, I changed the standard installation to backports with
> 
> apt -t bullseye-backports install samba
> 
> After a recent update, samba-ad-dc service didn't start anymore. The journal gave the following hint:
> 
> Jul 04 20:05:37 xxx (samba)[5864]: samba-ad-dc.service: Failed at step EXEC spawning /usr/sbin/samba: No such file or directory

Paul, others who also hit this issue.  I'm curious, I really am, - why aren't you seeing the
NEWS entries I've written.

Debian packages has NEWS mechanism - important information which is supposed to be presented
to the user on package upgrades.  apt-listchanges package is responsible for this -- it is
a part of standard install, with Priority: standard, so it is initially present on any
debian system installed the regular way.  By default, NEWS entries, if any, are displayed
while upgrading a package, apt waits the user to acknowledge the reading.

What prevents you and others from seeing these entries?

I had another way to do this transition (moving some files from main samba package to
samba-ad-dc package).  For example, it's possible to make samba Recommends: samba-ad-dc,
so samba-ad-dc package will be installed most of the time (unless the user disabled
installing recommended packages, which is not recommended).  But I don't want to do
that, because samba-ad-dc has additional dependencies not needed by samba.  So I went
this way, adding the fine docs to samba.NEWS file (/usr/share/doc/samba/NEWS.gz), in
a hope the user will read this info.  Apparently they aren't aware of that.

(When upgrading from bookworm to trixie, there will be release notes document, where
we'll mention this change in samba, - so this one will have a bit more chances to be
seen, at least).

Thanks,

/mjt

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