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<TITLE> Samba meta FAQ: General Information</TITLE>
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<A HREF="Samba-meta-FAQ-1.html">Previous</A>
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<A HREF="Samba-meta-FAQ.html#toc2">Table of Contents</A>
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<H2><A NAME="s2">2. General Information</A></H2>
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<P>
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<A NAME="general_info"></A>
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</P>
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<P>All about Samba - what it is, how to get it, related sources of
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information, how to understand the numbering scheme, pizza
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details.</P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss2.1">2.1 What is Samba?</A></H2>
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<P>
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<A NAME="introduction"></A>
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</P>
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<P>Samba is a suite of programs which work together to allow clients to
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access to a server's filespace and printers via the SMB (Server Message
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Block) and CIFS (Common Internet Filesystem) protocols. Initially
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written for Unix, Samba now also runs on Netware, OS/2, VMS, StratOS and
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Amigas. Ports to BeOS and other operating systems are underway. Samba
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gives the capability for these operating systems to behave much like a
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LAN Server, Windows NT Server or Pathworks machine, only with added
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functionality and flexibility designed to make life easier for
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administrators. </P>
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<P>This means that using Samba you can share a server's disks and printers
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to many sorts of network clients, including Lan Manager, Windows for
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Workgroups, Windows NT, Linux, OS/2, and AIX. There is also a generic
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client program supplied as part of the Samba suite which gives a user on
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the server an ftp-like interface to access filespace and printers on any
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other SMB/CIFS servers.</P>
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<P>SMB has been implemented over many protocols, including XNS, NBT, IPX,
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NetBEUI and TCP/IP. Samba only uses TCP/IP. This is not likely to change
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although there have been some requests for NetBEUI support.</P>
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<P>Many users report that compared to other SMB implementations Samba is
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more stable, faster, and compatible with more clients. Administrators of
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some large installations say that Samba is the only SMB server available
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which will scale to many tens of thousands of users without crashing.
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The easy way to test these claims is to download it and try it for
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yourself!</P>
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<P>The suite is supplied with full source code under the
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<A HREF="../COPYING">GNU Public License</A>. The GPL means that you can
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use Samba for whatever purpose you wish (including changing the source
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or selling it for money) but under all circumstances the source code
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must be made freely available. A copy of the GPL must always be included
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in any copy of the package.</P>
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<P>The primary creator of the Samba suite is Andrew Tridgell. Later
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versions incorporate much effort by many net.helpers. The man pages
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and this FAQ were originally written by Karl Auer.</P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss2.2">2.2 What is the current version of Samba?</A></H2>
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<P>
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<A NAME="current_version"></A>
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</P>
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<P>At time of writing, the current version was 1.9.17. If you want to be
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sure check the bottom of the change-log file.
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<A HREF="ftp://samba.org/pub/samba/alpha/change-log">ftp://samba.org/pub/samba/alpha/change-log</A></P>
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<P>For more information see
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<A HREF="#version_nums">What do the version numbers mean?</A></P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss2.3">2.3 Where can I get it? </A></H2>
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<P>
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<A NAME="WhereFrom"></A>
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</P>
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<P>The Samba suite is available via anonymous ftp from samba.org and
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many
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<A HREF="../MIRRORS">mirror</A> sites. You will get much
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faster performance if you use a mirror site. The latest and greatest
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versions of the suite are in the directory:</P>
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<P>/pub/samba/</P>
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<P>Development (read "alpha") versions, which are NOT necessarily stable
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and which do NOT necessarily have accurate documentation, are available
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in the directory:</P>
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<P>/pub/samba/alpha</P>
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<P>Note that binaries are NOT included in any of the above. Samba is
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distributed ONLY in source form, though binaries may be available from
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other sites. Most Linux distributions, for example, do contain Samba
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binaries for that platform. The VMS, OS/2, Netware and Amiga and other
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ports typically have binaries made available.</P>
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<P>A special case is vendor-provided binary packages. Samba binaries and
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default configuration files are put into packages for a specific
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operating system. RedHat Linux and Sun Solaris (Sparc and x86) is
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already included, and others such as OS/2 may follow. All packages are
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in the directory:</P>
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<P>/pub/samba/Binary_Packages/"OS_Vendor"</P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss2.4">2.4 What do the version numbers mean?</A></H2>
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<P>
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<A NAME="version_nums"></A>
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</P>
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<P>It is not recommended that you run a version of Samba with the word
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"alpha" in its name unless you know what you are doing and are willing
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to do some debugging. Many, many people just get the latest
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recommended stable release version and are happy. If you are brave, by
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all means take the plunge and help with the testing and development -
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but don't install it on your departmental server. Samba is typically
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very stable and safe, and this is mostly due to the policy of many
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public releases.</P>
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<P>How the scheme works:</P>
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<P>
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<OL>
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<LI>When major changes are made the version number is increased. For
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example, the transition from 1.9.16 to 1.9.17. However, this version
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number will not appear immediately and people should continue to use
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1.9.15 for production systems (see next point.)
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</LI>
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<LI>Just after major changes are made the software is considered
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unstable, and a series of alpha releases are distributed, for example
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1.9.16alpha1. These are for testing by those who know what they are
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doing. The "alpha" in the filename will hopefully scare off those who
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are just looking for the latest version to install.
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</LI>
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<LI>When Andrew thinks that the alphas have stabilised to the point
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where he would recommend new users install it, he renames it to the
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same version number without the alpha, for example 1.9.17.
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</LI>
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<LI>Inevitably bugs are found in the "stable" releases and minor patch
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levels are released which give us the pXX series, for example 1.9.17p2.
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</LI>
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</OL>
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</P>
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<P>So the progression goes:</P>
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<P>
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<PRE>
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1.9.16p10 (production)
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1.9.16p11 (production)
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1.9.17alpha1 (test sites only)
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:
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1.9.17alpha20 (test sites only)
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1.9.17 (production)
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1.9.17p1 (production)
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</PRE>
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</P>
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<P>The above system means that whenever someone looks at the samba ftp
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site they will be able to grab the highest numbered release without an
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alpha in the name and be sure of getting the current recommended
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version.</P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss2.5">2.5 Where can I go for further information?</A></H2>
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<P>
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<A NAME="more"></A>
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</P>
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<P>There are a number of places to look for more information on Samba,
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including:</P>
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<P>
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<UL>
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<LI>Two mailing lists devoted to discussion of Samba-related matters.
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See below for subscription information.
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</LI>
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<LI>The newsgroup comp.protocols.smb, which has a great deal of
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discussion about Samba.
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</LI>
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<LI>The WWW site 'SAMBA Web Pages' at
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<A HREF="http://samba.org/samba/">http://samba.org/samba/</A> includes:
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<UL>
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<LI>Links to man pages and documentation, including this FAQ</LI>
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<LI>A comprehensive survey of Samba users</LI>
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<LI>A searchable hypertext archive of the Samba mailing list</LI>
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<LI>Links to Samba source code, binaries, and mirrors of both</LI>
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<LI>This FAQ and the rest in its family</LI>
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</UL>
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</LI>
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</UL>
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</P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss2.6">2.6 How do I subscribe to the Samba Mailing Lists?</A></H2>
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<P>
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<A NAME="mailinglist"></A>
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</P>
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<P>Send email to
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<A HREF="mailto:listproc@samba.org">listproc@samba.org</A>. Make sure the subject line is blank,
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and include the following two lines in the body of the message:</P>
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<P>
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<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
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<PRE>
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subscribe samba Firstname Lastname
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subscribe samba-announce Firstname Lastname
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</PRE>
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</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
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</P>
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<P>Obviously you should substitute YOUR first name for "Firstname" and
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YOUR last name for "Lastname"! Try not to send any signature, it
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sometimes confuses the list processor.</P>
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<P>The samba list is a digest list - every eight hours or so it sends a
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single message containing all the messages that have been received by
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the list since the last time and sends a copy of this message to all
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subscribers. There are thousands of people on this list.</P>
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<P>If you stop being interested in Samba, please send another email to
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<A HREF="mailto:listproc@samba.org">listproc@samba.org</A>. Make sure the subject line is blank, and
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include the following two lines in the body of the message:</P>
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<P>
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<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
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<PRE>
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unsubscribe samba
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unsubscribe samba-announce
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</PRE>
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</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
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</P>
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<P>The <B>From:</B> line in your message <EM>MUST</EM> be the same
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address you used when you subscribed.</P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss2.7">2.7 Something's gone wrong - what should I do?</A></H2>
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<P>
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<A NAME="wrong"></A>
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</P>
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<P><B><F>#</F> *** IMPORTANT! *** <F>#</F></B></P>
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<P>DO NOT post messages on mailing lists or in newsgroups until you have
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carried out the first three steps given here!</P>
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<P>
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<OL>
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<LI> See if there are any likely looking entries in this FAQ!
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If you have just installed Samba, have you run through the checklist in
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<A HREF="ftp://samba.org/pub/samba/DIAGNOSIS.txt">DIAGNOSIS.txt</A>? It can save you a lot of time and effort.
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DIAGNOSIS.txt can also be found in the docs directory of the Samba
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distribution.
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</LI>
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<LI> Read the man pages for smbd, nmbd and smb.conf, looking for
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topics that relate to what you are trying to do.
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</LI>
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<LI> If there is no obvious solution to hand, try to get a look at
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the log files for smbd and/or nmbd for the period during which you
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were having problems. You may need to reconfigure the servers to
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provide more extensive debugging information - usually level 2 or
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level 3 provide ample debugging info. Inspect these logs closely,
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looking particularly for the string "Error:".
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</LI>
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<LI> If you need urgent help and are willing to pay for it see
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<A HREF="#PaidSupport">Paid Support</A>.
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</LI>
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</OL>
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</P>
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<P>If you still haven't got anywhere, ask the mailing list or newsgroup. In
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general nobody minds answering questions provided you have followed the
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preceding steps. It might be a good idea to scan the archives of the
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mailing list, which are available through the Samba web site described
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in the previous section. When you post be sure to include a good
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description of your environment and your problem.</P>
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<P>If you successfully solve a problem, please mail the FAQ maintainer a
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succinct description of the symptom, the problem and the solution, so
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that an explanation can be incorporated into the next version.</P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss2.8">2.8 How do I submit patches or bug reports?</A></H2>
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<P>If you make changes to the source code, <EM>please</EM> submit these patches
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so that everyone else gets the benefit of your work. This is one of
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the most important aspects to the maintainence of Samba. Send all
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patches to
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<A HREF="mailto:samba@samba.org">samba@samba.org</A>. Do not send patches to Andrew Tridgell or any
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other individual, they may be lost if you do.</P>
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<P>Patch format
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------------</P>
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<P>If you are sending a patch to fix a problem then please don't just use
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standard diff format. As an example, samba@samba.org received this patch from
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someone:</P>
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<P>382a
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#endif
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..
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381a
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#if !defined(NEWS61)</P>
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<P>How are we supposed to work out what this does and where it goes? These
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sort of patches only work if we both have identical files in the first
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place. The Samba sources are constantly changing at the hands of multiple
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developers, so it doesn't work.</P>
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<P>Please use either context diffs or (even better) unified diffs. You
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get these using "diff -c4" or "diff -u". If you don't have a diff that
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can generate these then please send manualy commented patches to I
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know what is being changed and where. Most patches are applied by hand so
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the info must be clear.</P>
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<P>This is a basic guideline that will assist us with assessing your problem
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more efficiently :</P>
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<P>Machine Arch:
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Machine OS:
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OS Version:
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Kernel:</P>
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<P>Compiler:
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Libc Version:</P>
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<P>Samba Version:</P>
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<P>Network Layout (description):</P>
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<P>What else is on machine (services, etc):</P>
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<P>Some extras :</P>
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<P>
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<UL>
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<LI> what you did and what happened
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</LI>
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<LI> relevant parts of a debugging output file with debuglevel higher.
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If you can't find the relevant parts, please ask before mailing
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huge files.
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</LI>
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<LI> anything else you think is useful to trace down the bug
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</LI>
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</UL>
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</P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss2.9">2.9 What if I have an URGENT message for the developers?</A></H2>
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<P>If you have spotted something very serious and believe that it is
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important to contact the developers quickly send a message to
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samba-urgent@samba.org. This will be processed more quickly than
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mail to samba@samba.org. Please think carefully before using this address. An
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example of its use might be to report a security hole.</P>
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<P>Examples of things <EM>not</EM> to send to samba-urgent include problems
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getting Samba to work at all and bugs that cannot potentially cause damage.</P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss2.10">2.10 What if I need paid-for support?</A></H2>
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<P>
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<A NAME="PaidSupport"></A>
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</P>
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<P>Samba has a large network of consultants who provide Samba support on a
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commercial basis. The list is included in the package in
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<A HREF="../Support.txt">../Support.txt</A>, and the latest version will always be on the main
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samba ftp site. Any company in the world can request that the samba team
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include their details in Support.txt so we can give no guarantee of
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their services.</P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss2.11">2.11 Pizza supply details</A></H2>
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<P>
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<A NAME="pizza"></A>
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Those who have registered in the Samba survey as "Pizza Factory" will
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already know this, but the rest may need some help. Andrew doesn't ask
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for payment, but he does appreciate it when people give him
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pizza. This calls for a little organisation when the pizza donor is
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twenty thousand kilometres away, but it has been done.</P>
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<P>
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<OL>
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<LI> Ring up your local branch of an international pizza chain
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and see if they honour their vouchers internationally. Pizza Hut do,
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which is how the entire Canberra Linux Users Group got to eat pizza
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one night, courtesy of someone in the US.
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</LI>
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<LI>Ring up a local pizza shop in Canberra and quote a credit
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card number for a certain amount, and tell them that Andrew will be
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collecting it (don't forget to tell him.) One kind soul from Germany
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did this.
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</LI>
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<LI>Purchase a pizza voucher from your local pizza shop that has
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no international affiliations and send it to Andrew. It is completely
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useless but he can hang it on the wall next to the one he already has
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from Germany :-)
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</LI>
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<LI>Air freight him a pizza with your favourite regional
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flavours. It will probably get stuck in customs or torn apart by
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hungry sniffer dogs but it will have been a noble gesture.
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</LI>
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</OL>
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</P>
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<HR>
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<A HREF="Samba-meta-FAQ.html#toc2">Table of Contents</A>
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