Since the release of the first edition of this book there have been repeated requests to better document configuration techniques that may help a network administrator to get more out of Samba. Some users have asked for documentation regarding the use of the include = file-name parameter.

Commencing around mid-2004 there has been increasing interest in the ability to host multiple Samba servers on one machine. There has also been an interest in the hosting of multiple Samba server personalities on one server.

Feedback from technical reviewers made the inclusion of this chapter a necessity. So, here is an answer the questions that have to date not been adequately addressed. Additional user input is welcome as it will help this chapter to mature. What is presented here is just a small beginning.

There are a number of ways in which multiple servers can be hosted on a single Samba server. Multiple server hosting makes it possible to host multiple domain controllers on one machine. Each such machine is independent, and each can be stopped or started without affecting another.

Sometimes it is desirable to host multiple servers, each with its own security mode. For example, a single UNIX/Linux host may be a domain member server (DMS) as well as a generic anonymous print server. In this case, only domain member machines and domain users can access the DMS, but even guest users can access the generic print server. Another example of a situation where it may be beneficial to host a generic (anonymous) server is to host a CDROM server.

Some environments dictate the need to have separate servers, each with their own resources, each of which are accessible only by certain users or groups. This is one of the simple, but highly effective, ways that Samba can replace many physical Windows servers in one Samba installation.