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logoSamba Sharing Package (SSP) 2.5b3

SSP is NOT compatible with Panther

Development of SSP has stopped since I spent all my time on VLC media player development. If you are interested in taking over, be my guest mail me with you sourceforge account.

What it is:
Samba is a Unix type server, currently included in MacOSX, which shares files using the CIFS/SMB protocol. This is the standard file-sharing protocol used by Windows. By sharing your files with Samba they can be accessed by Windows or/and other Unix-like computers in your network. This program allows you to share othere directories then the 'Home'-folders and make those directories available to guest users. You can also use this package to share your printers with Windows users.

Samba Sharing is not meant to access windows computers. OS X 10.2 has features for this itself. You can also use the shareware product Sharity from Objective Development to access the Windows-network.

As an alternative to this package you could use DAVE from Thursby Inc. But DAVE is not for free, so I release this package for all those people who like to share files with others in their Windows-network, but do not want to pay for a commercial application.

Download SSP:
This is a Beta. Although it has been tested, errors can and probably will occur when you use this. But I have received so many requests about an updated version of SSP for Jaguar that I'd thought I would release what I have now.
Read the included readme file for installation instructions and many useful tips.

Download from sourceforge SSP 2.5b3 (for MacOS X 10.2)
Download from sourceforge SSP 2.0 (for MacOS X 10.1)

If you are interested in helping, or if you would just like to see it, then download the sourcecode.
Download from sourceforge SSP 2.0 sourcecode

Package Contents
  • Samba Sharing Preference Pane: There will be a new Preference Pane in your "System Preferences" application after installation. This preferencePane will allow you to start and stop your server, manage multiple configurations and will let you see who is currently connected to your server
  • Samba Server Config Tool (SSCT): This application should be in your systems "Applications" directory. It will allow you to modify a configuration, access the help files, view the log files and (un)install SWAT. You can also access the Preference Pane from here.
  • Popup: This application allows you to send and, if enabled in the configuration file, receive WinPopup messages.

Screenshots
Click here to view several screenshots of the programs.

Notes and Known Issues
  • Brickhouse and other firewalls only open the tcp ports for CIFS/SMB traffic. Unfortunately Samba also requires udp. If you don't adjust this then this can result in strange network browsing behaviour. I suggest just turning any firewall off when you encounter a problem.
  • After installing, you need to setup users before others can use Samba Sharing. You can do this from the "Accounts" PreferencePane in your "System Preferences". Select a user and choose "Edit user".
  • Win2000 and possibly WinXP do not like spaces in the name of your computer. As a rule don't use spaces or any other strange characters in any of the settings.
  • You need to be an admin user to use the SSCT application.
  • Make sure that if you share a directory and set the writeable option, that you also set the directories privileges to "everyone - read/write" via the privilege editor which is hidden behind the "Change" button above this "writeable option". If you do not do this the users are still not able to upload.
  • If you are in an NT domain or make use of a password server, then it will be a lot harder to setup Samba, unless you use guest access. If you want to authenticate people by their own name and password, first read the two articles on Domain access referenced here and then go to Samba.org and look through the documentation provided there.
  • The samba servers stop automatically if they loose the network connection for a long (several minutes) time. You will need to stop them and start them again.
  • The samba servers sometimes hang if your computer has been into deep sleep. You will need to stop them and start them again.
  • If you see a "initgroups" error in your logfiles, then don't be alarmed. A client with group capabilites tried to login, but samba on OSX is broken at this point. This has no further consequences.
  • Another problem with WinXP and Win2000 is that you often need the same Windows username as the samba loginname. It seems XP can be a bit stubborn as to which name it uses to logon. Another thing to consider is the "Logon to microsoft network" option in the PC's Network config it sometimes helps to change it to "Windows logon".
  • If you make a change to your Windows setup then reboot your PC. Windows caches a lot of information and this can confuse your diagnostics.
If you find any or if you have suggestions, then contact the author: Derk-Jan Hartman.

Future
  • Add Assistents to help users configure their server.
  • Finally get those memory leaks in SSCT fixed, which cause it to randomly crash.

Version History Samba Sharing Package
  • Version 2.5b3: bugfix release.
    • Fixed a rare problem that made your machine unbootable. If this still happens I would very much like to be informed.
    • Made printers available for guest users.
    • Some spellingerrors were corrected.
    • If you had made changes to the original Apple Samba config, then this config will be saved as backup.sscf
    • This is a quick fix of the long awaited SSP 2.0 to work with 10.2. If you run 10.2 you will need to use SSP 2.0.
  • Version 2.5b2: bugfix release.
    • You can now actually create, copy and delete configs files again.
    • Fixed a bug with non persistent configs after reboot.
    • And a few other small things not worth mentioning.
    • This is a quick fix of the long awaited SSP 2.0 to work with 10.2. If you run 10.2 you will need to use SSP 2.0.
  • Version 2.5b1: 10.2/Jaguar release.
    • Updated the package to work with the builtin Samba server of Jaguar.
    • removed the custom 2.2.5 Samba server. Maybe I will release an update pack for Jaguar.
    • Added printing capabilities.
    • This is a quick fix of the long awaited SSP 2.0 to work with 10.2. If you run 10.2 you will need to use SSP 2.0.
  • Version 2.0: Bugfix release.
    • Added Popup to send and receive WinPopup messages. Courtesy of Micha Kersloot.
    • Reworked the User managemant in the prefPane.
    • Fixed several small bugs in Start/Stop action.
    • Fixed the problem with XP and "Hide Mac Files".
    • Removed unnecesarry options from SSCT.
    • Added codepage functionality.
    • Added option to turn SWAT off.
    • Upgraded to samba 2.2.5
    • Added language packs for Dutch and Japanese.
  • Version 1.5: Bugfix release.
    • New improved installation method realised with the help of Karl and Christian from Objective Development.
    • Included Samba X into the prefPane to reduce clutter.
    • Upgraded to Samba 2.2.3a
    • Switched the standard guest account to unknown. Nobody was causing problems in 2.2.3a
    • Added a help button to the prefPane.
    • Included log view/delete commands in the Tools menu of SSCT.
    • Many visual glitches removed.
  • Version 1.0: Initial release.
    • Combined SSCT, Samba X.
    • Added a new Preference Pane which takes over some of SSCT's functionality.
    • Fixed the start/stop bug.
  • For previous releases, see the seperate Version History's listed below.

Version History Samba Sharing Preference Pane
  • For newer releases, check the SSP history.
  • Version 1.0: Now part of Samba Sharing Package release.
    • Seperated from SSCT.
    • The Start/Stop bug is defenitly fixed now.
    • Added a new Users tab.

Version History SSCT
  • For newer releases, check the SSP history.
  • Version 2.5: Now part of Samba Sharing Package release.
    • Removed the general config and made a new Preference Pane that can be loaded from this application.
    • Added an Uninstaller.
    • Added "Hide Mac Files", "Share a Users Home Dir" and a "Share the Shared Dir" -options.
    • Updated the documentation.
  • Version 2.1: Bugfix release.
    • Believe to have fixed the crashing with starting and stopping the server
    • Removed a bug where a sheet was sometimes left on the screen after it had finished its work.
    • Fixed a bug that made it impossible to use the textual area for input.
  • Version 2.0: Mac OS X 10.1 compatible version.
    • Objective C'ified
    • Added a status area
    • Added options for multiple configurations
    • Added a textual interface to a configuration
    • Added a way to change your hostname
    • Start/Stopping the servers now also applies to the startup of the server at boottime
  • Version 1.0b1: Mac OS X preview release. Proof of concept.

Version History Samba X
  • For newer releases, check the SSP history.
  • Version 2.2.2
    • Added the hostname patch from apple.
    • Added a patch for new utf8-mac
    • Configured for compatibility with Mac OS X Server. All file locations are the same now.
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