HP CIFS Server Administrator's Guide Version A.03.01.04 (5900-2303), April 2012

1 Introduction to the HP CIFS Server
This chapter provides a general introduction to this document, HP CIFS, information about Samba,
the Open Source Software suite upon which the HP CIFS server is based, HP enhancements to the
Samba source, along with the various documentation resources available for HP CIFS.
HP CIFS Server description and features
The HP CIFS Server product implements many Windows Servers features on HP-UX. The Microsoft
Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocol, sometimes called Server Message Block (SMB), is a
Windows network protocol for remote file and printer access. Because the HP CIFS Server product
gives HP-UX access to the CIFS protocol, HP CIFS Server enables HP-UX to interoperate in network
environments exposed to Windows clients and servers by means of a Windows native protocol.
The HP CIFS Server source is based on Samba, an Open Source Software (OSS) project first
developed in 1991 by Andrew Tridgell. Samba has been made available to HP and others under
the terms of the GNU Public License (GPL). The goal of GPL software is to encourage the cooperative
development of new software. To learn about the GNU Public License, refer to the web site at
http://www.fsf.org. A Samba team continues to update the Samba source. To learn about the
Samba team, visit their web site at http://www.samba.org.
Features
HP CIFS Server merges the HP-UX and Windows environments by integrating HP-UX and Windows
features as follows:
• Authentication Mechanisms and Secure Communication Methods including:
Netscape Directory Server/Red Hat Directory Service (NDS/RHDS) via LDAP◦
◦ Windows Active Directory Services (ADS)
◦ Kerberos, NTLMv2, and SMB Signing Support
◦ HP CIFS internal mechanisms to facilitate HP-UX and Windows compatibility such as
username mapping, winbind, and idmap_rid.
• File System Access Support
• Network Printer Access Support
• Domain Features and “Network Neighborhood” Browsing
Integrated authentication mechanisms means that administrators can centrally manage both UNIX
and Windows users, groups, and user attributes on their choice of Windows ADS, NT, NDS/RHDS,
or HP CIFS Server’s tdbsam or smbpasswd account databases. The CIFS clients can have their
users authenticated through a single Windows interface enabling HP-UX and Windows server
resource access by means of secure communication channels.
Integrated file system access means that users can use Windows clients and interfaces including
Windows GUIs and applications such as Microsoft Office to read, write, copy, or execute files on
HP-UX and Windows clients and servers. Users and administrators can use Windows to set access
control rights on files stored on HP-UX.
Integrated printer access means that users can publish and find network printers, download drivers
from HP-UX systems, and print to printers with Windows interfaces.
Integrated domain features and network neighborhood means that HP-UX Servers and their file
systems can participate in Windows NT or Windows 2000/2003 domains and can be found
through Windows interfaces along Windows resources. HP CIFS Servers can also present their
own domain.
HP CIFS Server description and features 13