On 12/7/05, Bryan J. Smith <thebs413@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Samba has supported PDC/BDC functionality since 2.0, replication
> compatibility with native NT 4.0 PDC/BDCs as of 2.2+ (i.e., be a BDC to
> a native NT 4.0 PDC, or a PDC with native NT 4.0 BDCs).
I don't think that that Samba can serve as a PDC to NT 4.0 BDCs (or
vice versa); the HOWTO says it's impossible, and the 2.2 release notes
make no mention of it.
> It can _replace_ a native W2K ADS DC as of Samba 3.0, or be its "bitch"
> -- i.e., a "member server" in a native W2K ADS domain. It can't,
> however, be a peer DC to a native W2K ADS DC, and it probably never
> will, at least completely.
This is incorrect. Samba 3.0 cannot be a native ADS DC; that feature
will be added in Samba 4.
> ADS then offers MS-Kerberos for authentication and a sprawling set of
> schema and, more incompatibly, arbitrary Win32 services integrated with
> it. It's because of that latter fact that you will probably _never_ be
> able to use Samba as a DC to various servers that require native Windows
> W2K ADS (e.g., SQL Server, Exchange, etc...).
Another advantage of ADS/change in ADS relative to NT 4.0 is that it
uses DNS rather than NetBIOS name resolution and lets you get rid of
NetBIOS completely if you wish.
> However, Samba-CUPS SMB-IPP integration can be very, very powerful,
> including not only the ability to automatically install drivers, but set
> _proper_ configurations of the printers from the centralized CUPS
> interface. I.e., when all your printers are Postscript with their own,
> rich PPD (Postscript Printer Definition) files (or CUPS provides a rich
> Postscript PPD for a non-PS printer), you can pre-configure the printer
> and set the defaults for print-queues and they will be set for your
> Windows users -- all from the CUPS web interface.
>
> E.g., you can configure the memory size, various tray options, etc...
> just *1* time, then those configurations are set in the printer settings
> on every Windows client. That way you don't have to go around and do it
> manually on Windows clients or, worse yet, your users dork with the
> settings.
Can't you do the same thing using raw printing, by configuring the
printer in Windows?
Josh Kelley
