Samba 2.07 surfaces as freeware while HP tests for full release

The 7.0 release of MPE/iX shipping this month won’t include the latest 2.07 version of Samba, the file and resource sharing bridge between HP 3000s and NT and Unix systems. But the Samba software is available as something other than an HP beta test patch for MPE/iX 6.5. Over at Lars Appel’s Web site sits an MPE-ready version of Samba 2.0.7, ready for downloading. (The HP beta test patch is only available on a tape, like all beta test patches.)

Appel is the HP engineer who first ported the product to the 3000, and the 2.07 version takes care of a long-standing flaw in the software. HP hasn’t updated Samba since it first brought it out on MPE/iX 6.0 for the 3000, way back in 1998. Meanwhile, registry hacks remain the only way to ensure security on the supported version. The old Samba/iX still can’t authenticate a user’s connection request via the standard Microsoft encrypted password mechanisms.

Another advantage of the 2.07 release is it’s tied to O’Reilly and Associates documentation. It’s the first version for HP 3000s to use the SWAT (Samba Web Administration Tool). It’s also been tested against Windows 2000, and testers found five incompatibilities they’ve fixed in this version.

Other 2.07 upgrades for Samba are improvements for share mode handling to provide hundreds of concurrent PCs; support of configurable host name resolution order; enhancing the filename mapping algorithm to support the MPE/iX 6.5 and later list of legal MPE filenames which include characters ~,\\,$,%,^,*,+,|,{,},: the support of Western European languages in filenames; and the ability to self-configure using the GNU autoconf tool.

Appel’s site has a clean-room implementation of Samba 2.0.7 for MPE/iX. While it is not HP supported, that’s the same level of support you get while using HP’s beta test patch. You can download the key files to get Samba running more securely at Appel’s page, http://www.editcorp.com/personal/lars_appel/samba/index.html