Using Samba +CD - Softcover

Eckstein, Robert

3.5

84 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1565924495 ISBN 13: 9781565924499

Publisher: O′Reilly, 1999

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This book, which has been officially adopted by the Samba team under an open content license, is a comprehensive guide to Samba administration, including such recent additions as integration with Windows NT domains and the SWAT graphic configuration tool.Samba is a cross-platform triumph: it turns a Unix or Linux system into a file and print server for Microsoft Windows network clients. Now you can let users store their files (and even important executables) in a single place for easy sharing and backup, protected by Unix or NT security mechanisms, and still offer such transparent access that PC users don't even realize they're going to another system. The magic behind Samba is that it recognizes and speaks the SMB protocol developed by Microsoft for file and printer sharing on its own systems.Basic Samba configuration is simple, but you'll want to make sure your security settings are just right and find out about the full range of options (how do you like your filenames mangled?). Trouble-shooting, security, connectivity, performance, and logging are thoroughly covered with examples in this book.Samba is so robust, flexible, and secure that many people are choosing it over Windows NT for their file and print services. Furthermore, Samba is proving to be a necessity for the many organizations that have an existing Unix or Linux system and want to tie in PCs running Microsoft software. Samba is also open source software, licensed under the GNU General Public License.The authors present the most common configurations and problems in an easy-to-follow manner, along with instructions for getting the most out of Samba. Whether you're playing on one note or a full three-octave range, this book will give you an efficient and secure server. The included CD-ROM holds sources and ready-to-install binaries, plus other useful information.

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Review:

Samba, as all Linux users know, enables Windows machines to talk to Linux or Unix using the SMB protocol. It enables Linux to work as a file and print server and, with the latest version, a domain controller complete with password encryption support--but Samba is both a complex and subtle piece of work. A CD-ROM containing Samba 2.0.5a plus sources, docs and so on is included with Using Samba.

The authors cover the background to SMB then move on to running Samba. They then shift to Windows 98 and NT where they explain how to set both up to use Samba including the infamous encrypted password problem after NT service pack 3. They don't tell you how to turn it off in NT's Registry, though. Then they move on to the configuration file. Most of us edit a sample smb.conf file until it works, but the authors cover each option in detail, with practical examples. The most exciting areas discussed are printer support and security.

Chapter nine is essential reading--troubleshooting Samba. It discusses log files, the fault tree, net utilities, Samba utilities, documentation and newsgroups with special reference to the various log levels available. All in all, this is the book Samba users have been waiting for. It's also perfect for Windows users looking to install a cheap, robust, Linux server. --Steve Patient

Review:

'Setting up a Samba server is made easy with a copy of Using Samba. The reader is taken through the installation and configuration of Samba with thoughtful reflections and general recommendations for network configuration. Here you will find out more about Windows networks than in many Windows or Windows NT 'complete' guides.' - Ronan Webb, The Irish Times, February 14th 2000

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