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Samba Success in the Enterprise?

Posted by Cliff on from the asking-for-your-experiences dept.

gunnk asks: "We've deployed a Samba server here to replace some aging Novell Netware boxes. It works great: fast, secure, stable. However, we have one VIP that feels that Samba is 'amateur' software and that we should be buying Windows servers. I've been searching with little success for large Samba deployments in Enterprise environments. Anyone out there care to share stories of places that are happily running large Samba installations for their file servers? Or not so happy, for that matter — better to be informed!"

21 of 149 comments (clear)

  1. Sure, we use it by wiggles · · Score: 3, Informative

    I work in a Fortune 500 Media company, and with our mixed environment -- Sun, Linux, Windows, Mac -- we use Samba quite extensively for workflow. It works great, it's stable, and it makes our lives so much easier when we have to mass migrate files between the different platforms.

  2. Samba used by 500 developers by losman · · Score: 1, Informative

    In our corporate environment we use Samba to share resources that reside in our AIX environment. It has been in use for 4+ years and 500+ developers that are baning away at it all day long. We have not had a single issue with the software. And to boot it is supported by IBM from both a hardware and software support perspective. Your VIP is simply wrong or misinformed.

    --
    Q: I am short, useless and provide no value. What am I? A: a sig
  3. Another big company... by rossifer · · Score: 4, Informative

    AOL/Time-Warner enormously relies on linux and Samba all over the place. This may or may not help your case depending on what your boss thinks of AOL as a company...

    Ross

    1. Re:Another big company... by gfxguy · · Score: 2, Informative

      I can at least vouch for this Turner company that I work for (subdivision of TW). It's not exclusively anything, but a lot of our storage servers are NOT running Windows, but most of our desktops are. Figure it out. So there are Linux/Samba servers, but there's Samba running on other platforms, too.

      I even think we had some SGI's running samba a few years ago...

      --
      Stupid sexy Flanders.
  4. HHS in DC. by TheBeardIsRed · · Score: 3, Informative

    Department of health and human services (office of families) uses it to serve all of the files to their webservers.

  5. It's in the military... by RingDev · · Score: 3, Informative

    Our network guys used a Samba machine for at least one file share server that I knew of at HQMC. That was a number of years ago now. I know my college (a MS certified partner) used it and it was used heavily in a number of our networking and security classes.

    -Rick

    --
    "Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
  6. We serve about 1000 computers with it by caseih · · Score: 5, Informative

    I have several samba servers that serve 3000 users and almost 1000 computers, from Windows 98 to XP. It works well and only ever gives us problems when LDAP (OpenLDAP is tempermental) has a problem. We've used Samba since the 2.2 days in production. We're looking forward to Samba 4 to get ActiveDirectory-style domains. NT domains work fine, but are clunky. Only our lab machines are on a domain. The rest of the machines either just have local accounts with network drives mapped, or have pGina logins that map the drives for the user.

    For many enterprises, Samba isn't enough. They require the management aspects of ActiveDirectory. Fortunately Samba 4 will do all that. Plus I have yet to integrate Vista into our system. Promises to be a nightmare I think.

    This stigma your VP has is quite common, and no amount of evidence or arguing will change his mind, likely. Stubborn ignorance. The world is slowly changing, but I think it's as the truly ignorant people die off.

  7. I say go with what works best for the task. by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 3, Informative

    On my network, SAMBA is doing a better job as a server than what I've managed using Microsoft products as a server. I'd hate to cling to something or avoid something just because of a prejudiced notion. Apparently, you're already using it successfully. I suppose the only way to argue with good results is to make emotion-based nitpicks on the methodology.

  8. Re:Samba by forsetti · · Score: 3, Informative

    Agreed -- try OpenAFS. More complex, but scales well.

    --
    10b||~10b -- aah, what a question!
  9. Enterprise scale deployment by SWood · · Score: 5, Informative

    We have a project inside IBM called the Global Storage Architecture that provides enterprise file system service. There are currently over 95K users on GSA with over 143TB of used space, spread across 39 installations on 5 continents.

    There are several different ways to connect to GSA File depending on the platform and application, but Samba is used for connecting the Windows clients, of which there are tens of thousands. In addition to general office productivity, many of these clients are doing hardware design and software development.

    You can read an account of GSA File in appendix B of the Implementing NFSv4 in the Enterprise: Planning and Migration Strategies Redbook. The appendix is oriented toward the NFS aspects of the service, but you can still get a good idea of what is going on.

    http://publib-b.boulder.ibm.com/abstracts/sg246657 .html

  10. Linksys network storage (NSLU2) by coyote-san · · Score: 3, Informative

    The Linksys consumer-level network storage controller, NSLU2, is embedded linux + samba. This box looks like a Windows shared drive and has to interoperate with different flavors of windows without configuration. (The web interface just allows you to create and name volumes, add users, etc.)

    It's weird to compare a $100 box with enterprise-scale problems, but embedded software has to be 100% reliable since you can't issue patches or administer the box later if there's a problem.

    (BTW the box is also linux friendly, both flashed applications and booting to a HD-based Debian system. I have one at home.)

    --
    For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. -- H L Mencken
    1. Re:Linksys network storage (NSLU2) by Richard+Steiner · · Score: 2, Informative

      The Buffalo LinkStation line of storage devices are the same way. Embedded Linux and Samba.

      --
      Mainframe/UNIX Bit Twiddler and long time Windows/Linux Hobbyist.
      The Theorem Theorem: If If, Then Then.
  11. 167 employees and growing... by GweeDo · · Score: 3, Informative

    I work for a small/medium size business with around 167 employees. We have locations in Plainville KS, Hays KS, Chicago IL, Pasadena CA, and New York City NY. We use Samba for network file shares in all these locations. It works great in a mixed Linux, WinXP, Mac OS X environment. We haven't ever had any issues with it what so ever.

    --
    Unstable Apps: Our Android Apps Don't Suck
  12. Even better by Dolda2000 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Instead of quoting specific companies, how about pointing to that well known study which shows that Samba is more than twice as fast as Windows Server 2003 for SMB serving?

  13. 5 terabytes of Scientific Data @ an EDU; smbldap by Noksagt · · Score: 3, Informative

    We're not as big as some enterprise customers, but we do have a 5 TB FreeBSD server which uses samba to both run our domain of analysis workstations and serve up all of that data. Someone else mentioned OpenLDAP frustrations (with which I somewhat agree). However, IDEALX's smbldap does warrant a shoutout for making things easier for so long.

  14. Re:Has your VIP ever heard of a little company... by rm_-fr_* · · Score: 3, Informative

    For what it is worth, I don't have so much a story as to who is using Samba but rather who is "shipping" it in enterprise products. I work for an HP partner and HP has a product I can vouch for called "HP StorageWorks Enterprise File Services Clustered Gateway". Basically a NAS box on steroids. It comes in two flavors: Windows and Linux. Both serve CIFS...you do the math...

  15. Sun ships it with Solaris, and supports it by davecb · · Score: 2, Informative

    And they'll be happy to sell your boss as platinum support contract which includes it, so as to make it appropriaterly expensive (;-))

    --dave

    --
    davecb@spamcop.net
  16. Part of HP-UX by jazman_777 · · Score: 2, Informative

    HP calls it CIFS Server for HP-UX, but it's really Samba.

    --
    Slashdot: Failed Car Analogies. Amateur Lawyering. Anecdote Battles.
  17. Large University Deployment Solaris + Samba by midian_va · · Score: 3, Informative

    we have over 10,000 users (students/faculty/staff) with home directories on a single sparc solaris samba box (files stored on a SAN), and i can't say that we have had any problems with it. It has been extremely reliable for the past 5+ years we have been using it.

  18. Re:Run the numbers for him. by LWATCDR · · Score: 3, Informative

    Maybe not. IT has a budget. If they don't use all that budget then next year they get less money. Money is power.

    --
    See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
  19. Re:What about clientserver encryption? by Jeremy+Allison+-+Sam · · Score: 3, Informative

    I'm glad you asked that :-). It's not currently
    possible in CIFS - you need a secure network.

    But Steve French (CIFSFS Linux client) and I
    are looking at ways to add krb5/gss encryption
    to Linux/MacOSX/HPUX CIFS clients when talking
    to Samba servers using the UNIX extensions.

    Won't work with Windows clients unless Microsoft
    decides to implement what we design (and publish
    the protocol in an rfc of course) but then again
    you should be using Linux or Mac clients anyway to
    get the extra cool features :-) :-).

    Come to the SambaXP conference to hear more....

    http://sambaxp.org/

    Jeremy.