I am looking for insights into what the best low cost or license free
Samba platform would be for a basic file and print server for a small
office setting.

It seems based on my research that there is the Open source Unix\FreeBSD
option or one of the gazillion Linux distros - and I am trying to
research my way through which route to take.

I intend to have 3-10 desktop PC's some running mostly winxp, and some
running Linux (distro not determined yet).

I am technically solid from a hardware,networking and Microsoft
standpoint, but a newbie to FreeBSD, Linux and SAMBA.

While I prefer an easy networking setup, I want to make sure I get the
right platform in the long run from a performance standpoint and an easy
of administration standpoint.

I am wondering where FreeBSD fits into this picture. Would I be better
off using FreeBSD as the server, and then picking a Linux distro
strictly on its ability to be a nice XP replacement for the desktops?

Or if I know I am committing to a Linux distro on the desktops, should I
also run the samba server as a Linux box too?

(or should I look at one of the 'stripped down' 'high performance' Linux
distro for the server and a separate 'sexy graphical' flavor of Linux
for the desktops? That seems like a lot of extra work...but building a
server that is not elegant and quick at running SAMBA would also be stupid.)

I am thinking that from a performance and reliability standpoint FreeBSD
would make a much better samba server platform for a dedicated server
box than a Linux distro would be...but I have no reliable information to
back that up. It is just a hunch. Can anyone validate that for me?

Also - is the complexity of the setup for Samba on a FreeBSD box similar
to the complexity for setting up a Samba on one of the Linux distros?
Several Linux distros are making a name for themselves as being very
easy to install (like UBUTU?). Does that mean that Samba is also easy
to install, since it is "included"? Is Samba "included" and easy to
install in FreeBSD in the same way it is for most Linux packages?

Sorry for so many questions in one post...but they all seem related to me.

Any insights you folks have would be wonderful.

Jon in Milwaukee

Well, SAMBA isn't inclued in the base FreeBSD Installation, but it is
quite easy to install. Assuming you have an internet connection via
ethernet already established etc... the process is like this:

# cd /usr/ports/net/samba
# make
*make process output here*
# make install
*make install process output here*

Then, configuration is a litle more complex. You must edit the smb.conf
file in /usr/local/etc/smb.conf. If you want a copy of my file, i can
email it to you. Mine is setup to create a single share(folder
/usr/public) and it is mounted on my XP computers as a network drive Z:
It is also setup not to ask for any authentication for that share. If
you want more securtiy by providing authentication, ask somebody else,
becuz when i tried it my XP machine crashed(dumb widoze box).

So, setting up a file server is simple enough, but a bsd print server
is quite complex. Setting up printers in FreeBSD is probably the
hardest FreeBSD task u'll ever enconter. I have tried setting up a
Samsung ML-1430 Laser Printer for weeks without success. Redhat's
Fedora Core is definitely your best bet for a print server. I think
file sharing configuration with SAMBA should be easy enough on Fedora
also, so I'd recommend that if you will be using one box for file and
printer sharing. Make sure the box is about 500Mhz or so and has around
128MB of RAM if you plan on running Fedora in graphical mode. I highly
recommend running Fedora in the GNOME graphical environment as setting
up the printer will be a breeze.

Hope this helps,
ianthetechie

ianthetechie <ianthetechie> wrote:

> So, setting up a file server is simple enough, but a bsd print server
> is quite complex. Setting up printers in FreeBSD is probably the
> hardest FreeBSD task u'll ever enconter.

I'd say that it's not hard at all, if you use lpd. If you use CUPS,
good luck.

> I have tried setting up a
> Samsung ML-1430 Laser Printer for weeks without success.

Aha--according to linuxprinting.org, that's a host-based printer. They
have some other information on it, also. This would certainly make
setting up a print server more difficult.

ianthetechie <ianthetechie> wrote:
> Setting up printers in FreeBSD is probably the hardest FreeBSD task u'll
> ever enconter.

That's interesting, I've rarely had to do anything harder than add a couple of
lines to /etc/printcap. I don't understand what people find so difficult
about setting up printers. Of course, I buy regular networked PostScript
printers that last a couple of years. Not throwaways of which you exhaust
half the useful life just trying to get them to print something. :-)

> I have tried setting up a Samsung ML-1430 Laser Printer for weeks without
> success.

And what's not working for you?

- Philip

It's a USB Printer. FreeBSD recognizes it at startup in the screen
output(viewable by typing dmesg). After that, I have trouble. This is a
postscript printer so I used a filter found in a FreeBSD book in
conjunction with the utility a2ps and the printer warms up and the data
light starts flashing but no paper comes out. The error light usually
doesn't come on tho, which makes the problem even weirder.

ianthetechie wrote:
>
> So, setting up a file server is simple enough, but a bsd print server
> is quite complex. Setting up printers in FreeBSD is probably the
> hardest FreeBSD task u'll ever enconter. I have tried setting up a
> Samsung ML-1430 Laser Printer for weeks without success.

What about following the advice here:
http://www.linuxprinting.org/show_pr...amsung-ML-1430
Apparently, up to the recompilation of ghostscript with a special
driver, the printer is perfectly supported by CUPS.
I have set up my home machine with CUPS today, it is mostly simple,
i don't understand why people are so afraid of cups.

Basically, it is as simple as:
-install cups-base and foomatic-filters
-download the ppd appropriate for the printer at linuxprinting.org
and put it under /usr/local/etc/cups/ppd
-create /var/log/cups !!! This is a big blunder of the FreeBSD port,
the log directory is not created so no logging ... and monitor the logs.
- launch cupsd
-browse http://localhost:631
and create the printer (log as root with root passwd). You should see
the ppd model you have installed. Try the test page, it should work
straight away. Check the logs!
- check the permissions in cupsd.conf, they are too strict, basically
only allow connection from localhost. Restart cupsd.
-check that you can can contact cups by other means, eg from the
KDE print manager. It should work. Check that various types of documents
are correctly printed by the foomatic-rip filter.

End of the story.

On 29 Aug 2005 14:14:50 -0700
"ianthetechie" <ianthetechie> wrote:

> It's a USB Printer. FreeBSD recognizes it at startup in the screen
> output(viewable by typing dmesg). After that, I have trouble. This is a
> postscript printer so I used a filter found in a FreeBSD book in
> conjunction with the utility a2ps and the printer warms up and the data
> light starts flashing but no paper comes out. The error light usually
> doesn't come on tho, which makes the problem even weirder.

You may need to send a ^L (formfeed) character at the end of the
job. I had exactly the same symptoms with a USB PostScript printer, on
the parallel port (which it also had) it worked fine but slowly on USB it
hung as you described. Adding a filter that sent a ^L after the job made
it work on USB.

On Tue, 30 Aug 2005 00:15:41 +0200, Michel Talon wrote:
> -download the ppd appropriate for the printer at linuxprinting.org
> and put it under /usr/local/etc/cups/ppd

I don't know about linuxprinting.org, but I just used the PPD file that
came with my Lexmark printer. Works nicely, most of the time.

Sure, lpd is dead easy to set up if the printer is postscript, and you
only want to print from Unix systems. It's significantly more difficult
to persuade various Windows and Mac systems to talk to it, though, IMO.

I'm in favor of CUPS. It's good stuff.

On 2005-08-29, Andrew Reilly scribbled these
curious markings:
> On Tue, 30 Aug 2005 00:15:41 +0200, Michel Talon wrote:
> Sure, lpd is dead easy to set up if the printer is postscript, and you
> only want to print from Unix systems. It's significantly more difficult
> to persuade various Windows and Mac systems to talk to it, though, IMO.

What's so difficult about it? Set it as a standard TCP/IP port
on Windows and off you go (okay, fine, they put the standard
TCP/IP port in an odd spot in the UI, but it's still laughably
easy once you know that spot). Should be similar on Macs, or I
imagine you could just go the nice and simple Unix route and use
printcap. Yeesh, lpd is some of the simplest software I've ever
used. I'll never understand this aversion to using stuff in the
base system (tcsh (what do people see in Bourne shells?), lpd,
BSD versions of standard shell tools (<3 apply, for which there
is no GNU counterpart), etc.).

> I'm in favor of CUPS. It's good stuff.

CUPS is good for you just like chain-smoking is good for you. I
remember *months* of headaches with the Common Unix Pain System.
But I can have someone set up with lpd in five minutes flat. I
know this because I've done it recently, on both FreeBSD and
Windows. Hell, it took me 10 minutes to set up lpd on this box
for the very first time, and that's counting time spent bungling
around with a * -> PS filter. There's a really nice manual for
lpd under /usr/share/doc/smm/07.lpd. Taught me 99% of everything
I needed to set up lpd.

If you don't want to read, you can find comp.os.linux.advocacy
or whateverTF it is on the third door to the right, the one
with the sign that says "/usr/home/apeiron/.killfile".

On Tue, 30 Aug 2005 01:26:09 +0000, Christopher Nehren wrote:

> On 2005-08-29, Andrew Reilly scribbled these
> curious markings:
>> On Tue, 30 Aug 2005 00:15:41 +0200, Michel Talon wrote:
>> Sure, lpd is dead easy to set up if the printer is postscript, and you
>> only want to print from Unix systems. It's significantly more difficult
>> to persuade various Windows and Mac systems to talk to it, though, IMO.
>
> What's so difficult about it?

Nothing's "difficult" about it, to one skilled in the art, but a well
configured CUPS setup requires NO setup on Windows or Mac clients, because
it is browsable. They'll even fetch the PPD so that they know what sort
of printer you've got. That makes it easier, in my book.

> CUPS is good for you just like chain-smoking is good for you. I remember
> *months* of headaches with the Common Unix Pain System.

Yeah, CUPS took me a while to figure out too. In the end I realized that
I was trying too hard. You don't have to know the right host and
queue on the clients, because you can click on the appropriate printer
that will have been automatically found by the broadcast/browse mechanism.

> But I can have
> someone set up with lpd in five minutes flat. I know this because I've
> done it recently, on both FreeBSD and Windows. Hell, it took me 10
> minutes to set up lpd on this box for the very first time, and that's
> counting time spent bungling around with a * -> PS filter. There's a
> really nice manual for lpd under /usr/share/doc/smm/07.lpd. Taught me
> 99% of everything I needed to set up lpd.

I was happy with lpr/lpd for the best part of 20 years. It does a nice
job.

CUPS does a more complete job (printers are browsable, jobs manageable by
non-Unix client GUIs), and it does it better than LPD. Its also easier to
set up than LPD, once you know what it's trying to do. I will admit that
the documentation that comes with it isn't a patch on man lp{r,d,q,c} or
smm/07.lpd, so getting to that point can be trickier than necessary, the
first time. It's young, yet. I expect that to improve with time.

Cheers,

ianthetechie <ianthetechie> wrote:
> It's a USB Printer. FreeBSD recognizes it at startup in the screen
> output(viewable by typing dmesg). After that, I have trouble. This is a
> postscript printer

Not according to Samsung. They say the ML-1430 is "SPL - Samsung
Printer Language". That's why you need to use Ghostscript and then
convert the output to the SPL output needed by the printer.

Winprinters are trouble.

> so I used a filter found in a FreeBSD book in
> conjunction with the utility a2ps and the printer warms up and the data
> light starts flashing but no paper comes out. The error light usually
> doesn't come on tho, which makes the problem even weirder.

http://linuxprinting.org/show_printe...amsung-ML-1430

Here's the link to the driver:

http://www.linuxprinting.org/downloa...g/samsung-gdi/

It looks like you have to patch Ghostscript or use a version later than
the 7.07 I have.

Warren Block schrieb:
> ianthetechie <ianthetechie> wrote:
>
>> So, setting up a file server is simple enough, but a bsd print server
>> is quite complex. Setting up printers in FreeBSD is probably the
>> hardest FreeBSD task u'll ever enconter.
>
> I'd say that it's not hard at all, if you use lpd. If you use CUPS,
> good luck.

Quite simple. I've set up cups without even refering to an other
installation. It was easy. The most complicated thing was finding an
appropiate *.ppd file for my printer!

>> I have tried setting up a
>> Samsung ML-1430 Laser Printer for weeks without success.
>
> Aha--according to linuxprinting.org, that's a host-based printer. They
> have some other information on it, also. This would certainly make
> setting up a print server more difficult.

GDI printers are sometimes even a pitty used with Windows. I had one,
recomended by a friend. I gave it away for nothing --- there isn't an XP
driver available! This printer only runs if not using any Windows higher
than 98se. No chance to set it up running with Linux, FreeBSD or
anything else!

Andrew Reilly schrieb:
> On Tue, 30 Aug 2005 01:26:09 +0000, Christopher Nehren wrote:
>> Nothing's "difficult" about it, to one skilled in the art, but a well
> configured CUPS setup requires NO setup on Windows or Mac clients, because
> it is browsable. They'll even fetch the PPD so that they know what sort
> of printer you've got. That makes it easier, in my book.

One of the finest aspects of CUPS. Windows users do not even know about
them printing via a UNIX system. Even admins do not notice until they
are advised to be admins for this printer server! All aspects of printer
setup for Windows are doable from any client --- even setup for
automatic printer driver installation.

UNIX clients just need a CUPS client to be supported. No additional
setup on every host. CUPS handles it. With LPD there is need to setup
every client to the printers available on the network. Adding one
printer means adding this printer to every LPD around. With CUPS you add
it to the server and all clients (UNIX and Windows) know instantly about
this new printer.

Even better: you can group printers together. One printer in a group
going down or being removed --- no problem. The other printers in the
group will overtake his job. Same functionality with LPD? Quite hard to
set up.

>> CUPS is good for you just like chain-smoking is good for you.

What does CUPS have to do with chain-smoking?
BTW: you are a CUPS hater, aren't you?

>> I remember
>> *months* of headaches with the Common Unix Pain System.
>
> Yeah, CUPS took me a while to figure out too. In the end I realized that
> I was trying too hard. You don't have to know the right host and
> queue on the clients, because you can click on the appropriate printer
> that will have been automatically found by the broadcast/browse mechanism.

Yes, there is no, or better no good man page about cups. But what about
compiling cups, installing, then starting it? You will be able to read
the manual going to "http://localhost:631/". This works even with a text
only browser like links, lynx, or w3m.

There is --- in most cases --- no need to find out how the config-files
are build up. For most people the defaults are good enough. No need to
fiddle with them directly (for admins it is necessary, but what is
needed is given in the FreeBSD manual --- and this is changing one line,
making access by others than localhost possible. No need to consult the
CUPS manual in this case).

>
> I was happy with lpr/lpd for the best part of 20 years. It does a nice
> job.
>
> CUPS does a more complete job (printers are browsable, jobs manageable by
> non-Unix client GUIs), and it does it better than LPD. Its also easier to
> set up than LPD, once you know what it's trying to do. I will admit that
> the documentation that comes with it isn't a patch on man lp{r,d,q,c} or
> smm/07.lpd, so getting to that point can be trickier than necessary, the
> first time. It's young, yet. I expect that to improve with time.

AK --- but CUPS young? It is about eight years old now.