Running Linux, Third Edition

Chapter 12. Windows Compatibility and Samba

Linux is a remarkably effective operating system that normally replaces MS-DOS/Windows. However, there are always those of us who want to have their cake and eat it, too. We want to continue to use other operating systems as well as Linux, or at least to exchange files directly with them. Linux satisfies such yearnings with internal enhancements that allow it to access foreign filesystems and act on their files, with compatibility utilities that allow it to invoke MS-DOS to run DOS applications, or with a utility that allows Linux to run Xenix binaries without recompiling. The most outstanding tool for getting Linux and Windows to cooperate is Samba, which we’ll discuss in enough depth to help you get a basic, functional server running.

Samba is the package that lets you access Unix files and printers from Windows, and it is one of the most famous Open Source programs of all. People have found that Unix servers running Samba can—depending on the circumstances—serve Windows computers faster than even Windows servers can! In addition, Samba has proven to be very stable and reliable.

We use the term Windows somewhat generically in this chapter to refer to any of the DOS-based operating systems coming from Microsoft or those compatible with them, like MS-DOS, PC-DOS, and DR-DOS/Novell DOS (all with or without Windows 3.x running on top of them), as well as the various Windows versions themselves, no matter whether they build upon a separate ...