On Thu, Sep 06, 2007 at 09:28:46AM -0000, Launchpad Bug Tracker wrote:
> The latest version of Samba supported by Ubuntu Server Edition 6.06
> LTS is 3.0.22.  This contains a VAST NUMBER OF VERY SERIOUS BUGS which
> have been cured or worked around in the current stable release of
> Samba i.e. 3.0.25c.

First of all: Yelling won't help you a whole lot.

> Considering that Samba is such a critical component of many 6.06
> Server Installations, if LTS means anything then a Samba BACKPORT is
> urgently required at this time. 

Of course LTS means something. One of the things it means is that if
people are running an LTS release, we're not going to break it. There
may have been a number of backwards incompatible changes to Samba, so
just throwing a new version into a released version of Ubuntu may break
existing setups, which is completely unacceptable.

> I understand that much of this work has already been done (see
> Enterprise Samba link on Samba web site with Debian packages available
> for download)...

I don't see that link. Could you point it out for me?

> I am not familiar with the packaging process but I assume it's a case
> of prioritising this backport

We're not going to just take the new release and force it upon all our
existing Dapper users by dumping it in -updates. A straight backport is
not possible either as the current Samba package has dependencies that
cannot easily be fulfilled in Dapper.

> If this is not possible, a technical note on bypassing the packaging
> system might be useful as it will give end-users the ability to keep
> up with Samba changes independently of packaging system.

This is unlikely to happen either. While it might feel like a good
solution when you're doing it, when the time comes to upgrade to the
next LTS, headaches and aggrevation is guaranteed.

> PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT, AS IT STANDS, 6.06 MIGHT AS WELL NOT SUPPORT
> SAMBA AS THERE ARE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS WITH INTERWORKING WITH XP AND
> VISTA APPLICATIONS EVEN IN BASIC SET-UPS.

Please understand that shouting does not help. Also please understand
that if things seem risk-free and easy to do, but we're not doing them,
there's probably a reason.

I'm not saying that the Samba version we offer for Dapper is perfect.
I'm not even saying it's good. I'm certainly not saying it doesn't need
fixing. It does. Very much so. We "just" need to:

a) pinpoint the exact bugs that makes the Samba version in Dapper
unacceptable, extract patches for those bugs, integrate them into the
Dapper packages, and put them into dapper-updates.

and/or

b) create a recent Samba package for Dapper and put it into -backports
or perhaps a PPA for this particular purpose and somehow convey the
message of this repository's existence to the users who are experiencing
problems.

The problem with a) is that it's a tedious and error-prone process.  It
takes a lot of time to evaluate bugs, and even longer to pinpoint the
exact changes Samba that fixes them, and finally testing the fixes. The
problem with b) is the process of making the updated version of Samba
apparant to everyone.  There is no set mechanism for that.

I'm happy to accept input on the issue, especially if it's

a) constructive
b) in lower case (unless grammar dictates otherwise) :)
c) not of the form "this is really easy, and I cannot understand why you
are not doing it already"

Actual patches are of course preferred, but discussion about my proposed
solutions (points a) and b) above) and their related problems is an
excellent starting point.

-- 
Soren Hansen
Ubuntu Server Team
http://www.ubuntu.com/

-- 
Samba Backport Urgently Needed
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/137656
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