Development
SerNet is developing Samba on behalf of various stakeholders in the market since 2002. Among them are vendors, system integrators or other third parties represented by single companies, public bodies and joint communities. All are united by their interest in advancing Samba technology.
Reach out to us, if you are also invested in Samba – we are happy to talk Samba development and explore mutual goals!
On the SAMBA+ web pages, we share proposals and innovations in Samba technology. These span a spectrum of topics—from concepts already brought to life to those in the pipeline and even visionary bleeding edge ideas awaiting development. Initially, we are presenting two important proposals:
- Persistent File Handles (Ralph Böhme )
- SMB Direct (Stefan Metzmacher)
Research Topics
Samba always has a number of exciting development projects. Curious about our ongoing and upcoming projects? Reach out to us and let's explore together!
- SMB3 UNIX Extension
- SMB3 Directory Lease
- SAMBA+ for FreeBSD
- s4u2self - see documentation at Microsoft
- io_uring
- unix_id on DCs (Unix ID Allocator)
- SID filtering
- Multi Domain Support in Active Directory
- Multi-tenancy as Active Directory member
- Azure / EntraID Connect
- MS Exchange in SAMBA AD
- Modularize Samba for a version with small footprint
e.g. for use on OpenWRT and embedded systems GPOs in winbind (maintain SUDO etc. in AD)- solved since Samba 4.14
Joint software development
A key aspect of software development is adequate funding. Each project brings together different partners interested in a specific solution. To unite these parties, three essential documents are required:
- A Letter of Intend (LOI):
All interested parties sign the LOI that comes into effect after the last signature. This includes acceptance of Samba team rules, the public code donation to Samba upstream repositories and legal issues like warranties and indemnification (there are none - the LOI is about software sponsorship and code donation only): Demo-LOI. - Technical proposal:
All Parties agree on the technical milestone paper that describes the challenge, the proposed solution path, main obstacles and goals. The proposal is published on this page of the SAMBA+ website. - Quotes for procurement:
All parties receive a quote which usually contains an identical price tag for all. The quote specifies the total and individual costs of the development. SerNet always enters at least the same financial engagement like all other parties so this is a true sponsorship by all contracting parties.
Are you interested in partnering on Samba development or want to learn more about our current projects? Contact us today to discover collaboration opportunities and how you can become part of our innovative development projects.
All documents are available at SerNet under a creative commons license "CC BY-SA". Just send us a note.
