Sebastopol, CA--Samba is a cross-platform triumph: an extremely useful networking tool for anyone who has both Windows and Unix systems running on the same network, which includes just about everyone these days. Running on a Unix system, Samba allows Windows to share files and printers on the Unix host, and it also allows Unix users to access resources shared by the Windows systems. Robust, flexible, fast, and secure, it's no wonder that many people choose Samba over Windows NT/2000/XP for their file and print services. Samba is also free software.
Using Samba, Second Edition by Jay Ts, Robert Eckstein, and David Collier-Brown (O'Reilly, US $39.95) will help readers make their file and print sharing as powerful and efficient as possible. This book, which has been officially adopted by the Samba Team and is under the GNU Free Documentation License (FDL), is a comprehensive guide to Samba administration. This new edition focuses on Samba 2.2 and covers the most important features of 3.0, which was under development as this book went to print.
"Samba is the main tool being used for connecting Windows and Unix systems," explains coauthor Jay Ts. "In addition, it's becoming a good tool for connecting Unix systems to other Unix systems. I expect Samba to continue to become more popular as more organizations learn how useful it is. It's fast and has a better security model than NFS. Considering that Samba now comes with Mac OS X, the result of all this is that Samba is becoming a 'one source' solution for networking all three of the major operating systems that will be in use a few years from now, that is, Unix, Mac OS X, and Windows."
"Using Samba" takes readers from basic installation and configuration--on both the client and server side, for a wide range of systems--through the subtle details of security, cross-platform compatibility, and resource discovery that make the difference between whether users see the folder they expect to see or find themselves facing a cryptic error message.
The authors delve into the internals of the Windows activities and protocols to an unprecedented degree, explaining the strengths and weaknesses of each feature in Windows domains and in Samba itself. Wondering how to integrate Samba's authentication with that of a Windows PDC? How to get Samba to serve Microsoft Dfs shares? How to share files on Mac OS X? These and a dozen other issues of interest to system administrators are covered. An entire chapter is dedicated to troubleshooting.
Anyone who manages a network that has both Unix (including Mac OS X) and Windows systems will want a copy of "Using Samba, Second Edition." It includes everything needed to run Samba--from basic installation to advanced topics in security, troubleshooting, and special environments.
What the critics said about the first edition:
"This is the book Samba users have been waiting for. It's also perfect for Windows users looking to install a cheap, robust, Linux server."
--Steve Patient, amazon.co.uk"'Using Samba' is a very well written guide book which covers everything from the most basic concepts of installing the file and print server to security issues to name resolution...Invaluable as a technical resource for Samba, the book also gives great insight for novices into beginning networks and how they work together."
--Wes Ritchey, The Internet-Eye, February 2001"Brilliant."
--Richard Ibbotson, Sheffield Linux User's Group, February 2001"A wonderful book, but I've come to expect that from O'Reilly."
--Tom Boyer, DGFocus, July 2000"...a comprehensive guide to Samba administration whether you're playing on one note or a full three-octave range, this book will help you maintain an efficient and secure server."
--Linux Central, March 2000"The authors have a clear, clean style (as you'd expect from O'Reilly) and take a common-sense, practical approach to various issues such as security and configuration. The authors also focus on additional Samba utilities like smbclient and smbmount, which are useful for troubleshooting. The real gem of this book is chapter nine, the troubleshooting tree. If you're stuck with weird behavior and you have a deadline to meet, this chapter alone may be well worth the cover price...If you know you need Samba and want some help setting it up and configuring it, this is your book. If you're curious about what Samba can do for your network, flip through the first chapter and rest assured that this book will help you get things under control."
--chromatic, slashdot.org, November 1999
Additional Resources:
Using Samba, Second Edition
Jay Ts, Robert Eckstein, and David Collier-Brown
ISBN 0-596-00256-4, 539 pages, $39.95 (US), $61.95 (CAN), 28.50 (UK)
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938; 1-707-827-7000
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