On Sun, 2007-10-28 at 00:10 +0800, Deepak Shrestha wrote: > Hi, > > This can be rather silly question but I have few questions regarding > file and print sharing implementation using CIFS/SMB based protocol. > > Condition: > ========================= > # File Type: Media File > # Client OS: Windows XP > # File access mode: Read only > # Heavy use expected > # Seeking of file position is expected to be very heavy since client > can forward or rewind the media file as they wish > # Environment: LAN > # No. of Clients: 30-50 > ========================= > > Questions > ========== > How can I use my regular desktop PCs as file servers to support these > number of clients? Since I have heard about Samba clustering (but not > very familiar with it), I am thinking that I can make use of ordinary > PCs instead of buying a giant server machine. Can this be possible??? ---- I suppose you could do this but it would probably be an unworkable strategy. Samba can certainly handle 50 clients on one server without much difficulty. The benefits of having networked share volumes on a server instead of on a client include: - resources dedicated solely to serving network and not held hostage to various events that on client desktops (and there are many). - cheaper/easier to have redundant storage (i.e. RAID 1 mirror, RAID 5, 6, 10, etc.) - single source/location for backup - single source for authentication ---- > Another side question is: Since SMB protocol has reputation of being > noisy which can clog the network, is it even possible to have 50 units > in one segment? (this implementation is based on simple workgroup, no > domains and domain controllers). ---- no problem having 50 clients on one network segment, relatively modern 'switches' instead of hubs cut down on chatter. domain and domain controller methodology not too much different than workgroup and certainly the benefits of a domain/controller are substantial, I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand at all - I would heavily encourage use of Windows domain mechanisms for your purposes. ---- > Is there an equivalent clustering solution if it is implemented using > windows OS? ---- I am unclear what your definition is for clustering. If you are talking about clustered storage, Microsoft does have DFS which is supported by Samba but I don't believe their Desktop OS's (WinXP professional, etc.) are capable of being anything but a client. ---- > I am asking this because my experience in this matter is limited to 10 > computers only and don't know any details about protocol itself. > > Thanks in advance ---- Samba has excellent resources available including... mail list https://lists.samba.org/mailman/listinfo/samba documentation (perhaps the best in open source) http://samba.org/samba/docs/ pay attention to their 'How-To' http://samba.org/samba/docs/man/Samba-HOWTO-Collection/ and their 'By Example' which provides a fairly exhaustive walk through for a number of typical scenarios... http://samba.org/samba/docs/man/Samba-Guide/ Craig
