Samba Server and Client FAQ

This page should become a collection of tips and tricks around the setup and operation of the Samba Server and Client for eComStation and OS/2.

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Q: Can Samba Server for eCS (OS/2) operate as a Primary Domain Controller?
A: Yes, that is possible. The sscc.exe installer utility version 0.5.7 that comes with the 3.0.31 WPI package is able to create a smb.conf suitable for a Primary Domain Controller, however it cannot migrate an existing smb.conf. Please note, that it is recommended to use tdbsam backend instead of standard smbpasswd backend if you intend to run a Primary Domain Controller. Use pdbedit with the -i and -e switches to migrate users and groups from smbpasswd backend to tdbsam backend.

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Q: I see a completely erratic behaviour, when I try to add users to groups - I always get NT_ACCESS_DENIED errors, although credentials should be sufficient. Sometimes the user appears magically after the next operation. What is wrong here?
A: The problem is located in the group file and in the addusertogroup.cmd and deluserfromgroup.cmd scripts. The userlist MUST be terminated by a comma. Examples of the group file syntax floating around neglect this issue, and the scripts mentioned above do not provide the comma either (updated revisions are available ​here).

Each line of your group file should look like this:

ntadmin:*:3019:root,paul,herwig,master,administrator,

Note: For real Unix it seems that it does not matter whether the trailing comma is added or not. The OS/2 implementation in klibc however depends upon this trailing comma in order to work properly.

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Q: How should my protocol bindings look like in MPTS?
A: You must not have installed NetBIOS over TCP/IP. Samba server uses the same ports and thus cannot run at the same time as NetBIOS over TCP/IP. This is no bug and no limitation of the OS/2 version, this just the way Samba works.

The most simple protocol binding in MPTS would look like the following (in case no Virtual Machine solution such as VirtualPC, SVISTA or VirtualBox is installed):

Intel(R) Pro 1000 network connection....... (for example)
   0 - IBM TCP/IP

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Q: Does Samba really need this libc063x.dll, I have libc063.dll anyway? I want to get rid of one of these two files! This is the DLL hell!
A: Samba comes with an enhanced version of ​libc063.dll named libc063x.dll. In order to run Samba successfully you must have this file, the standard ​libc063.dll does not work for Samba. The two DLLs are not interchangeable and you cannot just rename one or the other. Please note that you also must not rename libc063x.dll to ​libc063.dll in order to use the enhanced DLL with other applications. This will not work, too.

Note: Most Samba builds already come with libc063x.dll], but some of the more recent builds did not.
Note: Samba version 3.0.30 and later come with libc064x.dll. So libc063x.dll is obsolete and can savely be removed from your system. You must NOT delete ​libc063.dll however!

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Q: What is faster, Samba Server for eCS (OS/2), IBM Peer, LAN Server or WarpServer for eBusiness?
A: The Samba Server provides a much better performance than all the older IBM products on a given hardware. The Samba Client is slower than the IBM LAN Requester. Resumee: Samba Server plus Samba client outperform any combination of IBM LAN Requester and IBM Peer/LAN Server/WSeB.

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Q: What about stability? Is Samba for eCS (OS/2) stable enough to run my company's network?
A: There are several case studies where Samba Server for eCS (OS/2) is already used in a real life office environment successfully for approximately a year, without real problems. Nevertheless Samba still has quirks and in its current status is more difficult to handle than the older IBM products (which definitely also have quirks and limitations, especially when it comes to newer Windows clients).

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Q: Which OS/2 components are replaced by Samba?
A: The following table provides an overview:

Samba component	Original eCS (OS/2) component	Remarks
Samba Server	IBM Peer/LAN Server/WSeB	Samba cannot share serial devices, but is much faster on the same hardware
Netdrive + Samba client plugin	IBM LAN Requester	Used to access files/directories on a Samba server from an eCS (OS/2) client
eVFS + Samba client plugin	IBM LAN Requester	Used to access files/directories on a Samba server from an (OS/2) client
Samba smbspool + eRedMan	IBM LAN Requester	Used to print from OS/2 on a printer shared by a Samba server

Note: eVFS comes with eComStation 2.x
Note: eRedMan can be found ​here.

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Q: Is the Samba Server for eCS (OS/2) able to store OS/2 extended attributes properly?
A: Yes. Recent Samba builds can do that nicely. You have to add the following statement to your smb.conf in order to enable extended attributes:

[global]
   ...
   ea support = Yes
   ...

Note: Samba Server builds older than 2007-02-26 had problems with Extended Attributes (EAs), both with clients connected with IBM LAN Requester and with clients connected with the older Samba 3.0.9 plugins for Netdrive.

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