Let's Dance The Samba!

Then, let's go smash a few Windows.

Samba, Smashing a Few Windows

The Samba Team released version 2.2 this afternoon, adding to the pile of stones collecting just outside of the Redmond city limits. Samba is the secret weapon that makes Linux an alternative to servers running Microsoft Windows NT/2000. And the software is absolutely free, even for commercial use.

Just like Linux, Samba is open-source software, developed and distributed freely via the Internet and for a few dollars from hundreds of vendors, like Red Hat, the leading distributor of packaged Linux.

Samba lets a computer share files or manage print jobs like a Windows file server or print server.

The new version 2.2 of Samba brings the software up to speed with the new features in Windows 2000 and adds several improvements. Jeremy Allison, one of the lead Samba programmers, calls it a "major update" that will help Samba systems slip more smoothly into Microsoft networks.

Jerry's right. Last night I downloaded the latest version of Red Hat Linux, version 7.1, burned the installation CDs and had one of our network servers redone before going home. This afternoon, I downloaded the new Samba release and had it installed in a few minutes. The only thing my Windows client workstations know is that the network server's running faster than it was yesterday.

The software offers cost savings not only because customers don't have to pay for the server operating system, but also because they don't have to pay "client" license fees for all the computers that use the server. And Microsoft appears to be feeling the pressure. The company has been aggressively pushing a version of Windows 2000 that computer makers may customize for jobs such as file and print servers, luring big names such as Dell Computer, Compaq Computer and Maxtor to ship these "Windows-powered" products.

With the Linux/Samba combination I get all the network configuration options that I need in a faster-running, less processor-intensive package. And I don't have any client access fees. No matter how many users we add to our network, access to the file and print servers remains free.

License fees are a major pain for corporations. I help my clients maintain log books of their software licenses. Add in their administrative costs and salaries to the actual license fees and per-user costs run well into the hundreds of dollars. All those presidents, flying out the window, just to have access to shared files and printers. What do you think? Does money grow on trees?

Samba 2.2 slips into a Windows 2000 network easily without having to be specially configured, a feature called "single sign-on." Also, Samba servers automatically send computers the software needed to use particular printers. Hewlett-Packard personnel helped the Samba team get this feature working, and it works great.

Samba 2.2 acts as an "authentication source," emulating a Windows server. Other Windows workstations fully integrate into the Samba server because they think they're communicating with another Windows box.

So, why pay Redmond server license fees when Samba does all Windows does and more for the cost of a five-minute download. Oh, and Samba will run just fine on that old '486 you use as a doorstop. Imagine what it does on a new system with a bit of RAM and horsepower.

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References

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updated April 19, 2001
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