If the Open Source Software world had Seven Wonders, Samba would certainly be one of them. Here is how the software is described on Samba.org:

“Samba is software that can be run on a platform other than Microsoft Windows, for example, UNIX, Linux, IBM System 390, OpenVMS, and other operating systems. Samba uses the TCP/IP protocol that is installed on the host server. When correctly configured, it allows that host to interact with a Microsoft Windows client or server as if it is a Windows file and print server.”

Samba offers two major services file serving and print serving. Samba allows Windows, Mac, and Linux machines to share storage without having to understand the server’s underlying file system. Windows XP clients can save files onto a RedHat Linux server running ext3, even though Windows XP has no idea what ext3 is. Next, the clients can all access shared printers using Samba. A PowerMac G5 can easily access a file on a Samba share, then print to a laser printer shared by Samba. Samba even has a feature which allows Windows clients to automatically install printer drivers on demand over the network. An excellent tutorial regarding this topic was posted by Carla Schroder, author of the Linux Cookbook.

Samba’s file serving capabilities are excellent, eclipsing Microsoft’s own built in capabilities. While Windows file sharing seems to depend on the time of day, barometric pressure, or the daily tides, Samba offers bullet proof file services at no cost.