> > Is it possible to have windows 98 share drives using nfs instead of
> > samba?
>
> Short Answer: NO
>
> Longer Answer :NO!
[Note: below, Win32 = Windows 32-bit architecture, i.e., Win95, Win98,
WinNT, etc.]
Other Answer: Check www.tucows.com for Win32 NFS servers. I seem to
remember some cheap/shareware NFS servers for Windows. Or, you may have
to spend big bucks to get an NFS server for Win32.
Note that using NFS under Win32 requires a separate application to
share the drive, unlike SMB ("Network Neighborhood" protocol) sharing
which is built-in to Windows.
If you want to see a shared Win32 directory on a Linux box, just
mount it with the "-t smb" option, i.e. "mount \\winbox\c /Winbox_shared
-t smb". If you want a Win32 system to see a shared Linux directory, you
must configure the Samba server by editing the file /etc/smb.conf. Type
"man smb.conf" for details.
> Reasoned Answer: Samba was created mostly by Andrew Tridgell from some
> work he did to make DOS use some unix files, sometime in ancient
> history. Of course, the contributors list is much longer now! It's
> stated purpose is not only to make UNIX and Windows play nice but also
> to SHARE. Without this protocol translator known as Samba, they don't
> share. Note that the approach taken is that as Windows does its 800 lb
> gorilla act, Samba reverse engineers to stay compatible.
Technical answer: Samba (and the samba server and smb utilities) is an
implementation of the SMB protocol that runs on top of TCP/IP. Note that
you can't use Samba to talk to a Win32 box that does not have TCP/IP
installed and configured.
The Samba server not only shares directories, but also lets a Unix
box replace a Windows NT server by offering such services as WINS, Domain
Master, network logon scripts, and authentication services.
The cool thing about Samba is that you can use a Linux box,
running Samba, NFSd, and Netatalk (the Mac version of Samba :) to share
huge partitions to a group of Mac, Win32, and Unix workstations. Not only
that, but the same Linux box can act as a DHCP, Email, DNS, FTP, and Web
server for your network (although I wouldn't recommend it for security
reasons). It's very stable (although Netatalk sucks sometimes), and very
cost-effective. And 100% Open Source.
--Derek
