GUI tools ease
Samba administration

bbSAT is a Windows-based tool for Samba configuration from German-based B+B Unternehmensberatung that makes it easier to set up and maintain config files like smb.conf without having to struggle with the Posix shell, vi, and the like. The software has the Samba/iX setup job create an initial configuration with a share that is sufficient for the Samba administrator to connect from a PC, then run the bbSAT tool as well as access the Samba config files.

bbSAT does not erase comments, and comes with support tools and composers (a File-Browser, Command-Composer and User-Browser) to help managers to build wired allow hosts constructs. It only writes tags that are necessary, and it shows global service parameters in every section, to deliver a full overview of what is set and not set.

This kind of utility, run from Windows 95, is getting popular among Samba-using sites for good reason, according to HP’s Lars Appel. “There are a large number of config directives in smb.conf which can be quite confusing to a customer,” said Appel, the engineer who ported Samba to the HP 3000. “Just look at the documentation at the main Samba web site and try to find out which config directives are important.”

The bbSAT tool tries to group them reasonably, and also plans to offer pop-up help and the like to make basic and advanced configuration much more convenient for the administrator. For more information on bbSat send an e-mail to samba@bb-online.de. For a full list of suppliers of this type of tool, browse to the Samba GUI Web page.