[kwlug-disc] setting up a samba network with no windows systems?

[unsolicited]

john at netdirect.ca wrote, On 10/18/2009 7:08 AM:
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> A reason to use samba is to actually have some authentication
> control. NFS assumes the client is controlled by the system
> administrator and trusts that the client system properly
> authenticated the user.

For NFS, does this assume a central authentication mechanism? e.g. 
LDAP / PAM? Otherwise you create an account on the sharing machine for 
each user and supply that when connecting?

Which, I assume would also be true for samba, with config files for 
the sharing machine. Unless you're authenticating against Active 
Directory? (Does that work? All that well?)

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> I don't know if there is an automount for Samba.  This could be one
> example of how there are features that NFS has over samba. Although
> that feature is a specific client tool rather than an NFS standard.

There are, or equivalents, out there. e.g. in the mount file. Note, 
however, that not all work, YMMV. Using smb://, for example, in mount, 
fails miserably. Bug reports have been filed and outstanding for many 
revs now. The problem(s) has never been resolved.


I can think of a couple of other reasons to have non-NFS around. 
Richard, IIRC, and he can confirm/deny, was setting up an external USB 
or standalone NAS box, and just gave up on getting NFS working - going 
to Samba instead. IIRC, the problem was with the standalone box's NFS 
implementation.

There are more 'samba' familiar users and devices out there than not. 
Camera cards, and windows user's usb keys come to mind. I can envision 
circumstances where simply inserting the stick in the other machine 
isn't palatable. Inevitably, you'll run into the issue. Perhaps easier 
to just set it up that way in the first place.

Sort of like JFS, or whatever, on a USB key, with Windows at work and 
Linux at home. Not gonna get you where you wanted to go.