Section 9.1. Samba Domains: NT 4.0 or Active Directory?

9.1. Samba Domains: NT 4.0 or Active Directory?

Before we dive into the technical details of Samba's domain controller functionality, it is important that you understand what a Samba domain offers, what it currently lacks, and where the project is headed. As stated in Chapter 1, Samba 3.0 can act as a Windows NT 4.0 domain controller, with one major exception. It does not implement the Windows System Account Manager (SAM) replication protocol. This means that it cannot participate as a domain controller with Windows DCs in either an NT 4.0 or mixed-mode Active Directory domain. However, this limitation is not usually a deterrent to deploying a Samba domain. As you will see later in this chapter, it is possible to configure a domain composed solely of Samba DCs. Samba 3.0 cannot at this time act as a domain controller for an Active Directory domain.