1<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"><title>Foreword</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="samba.css" type="text/css"><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.71.0"><link rel="start" href="index.html" title="Samba-3 by Example"><link rel="up" href="index.html" title="Samba-3 by Example"><link rel="prev" href="pr02.html" title="Acknowledgments"><link rel="next" href="preface.html" title="Preface"></head><body bgcolor="white" text="black" link="#0000FF" vlink="#840084" alink="#0000FF"><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">Foreword</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="pr02.html">Prev</a>�</td><th width="60%" align="center">�</th><td width="20%" align="right">�<a accesskey="n" href="preface.html">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr></div><div class="preface" lang="en-US"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="id275394"></a>Foreword</h2></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><b>Table of Contents</b></p><dl><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="pr03.html#id275401">By John M. Weathersby, Executive Director, OSSI</a></span></dt></dl></div><div class="sect1" lang="en-US"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="id275401"></a>By John M. Weathersby, Executive Director, OSSI</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><blockquote class="blockquote"><p> 2The Open Source Software Institute (OSSI) is comprised of representatives from a broad spectrum of business and 3non-business organizations that share a common interest in the promotion of development and implementation 4of open source software solutions globally, and in particular within the United States of America. 5</p><p> 6The OSSI has global affiliations with like-minded organizations. Our affiliate in the United Kingdom is the 7Open Source Consortium (OSC). Both the OSSI and the OSC share a common objective to expand the use of open source 8software in federal, state, and municipal government agencies; and in academic institutions. We represent 9businesses that provide professional support services that answer the needs of our target organizational 10information technology consumers in an effective and cost-efficient manner. 11</p><p> 12Open source software has matured greatly over the past five years with the result that an increasing number of 13people who hold key decisionmaking positions want to know how the business model works. They 14want to understand how problems get resolved, how questions get answered, and how the development model 15is sustained. Information and communications technology directors in defense organizations, and in other 16government agencies that deal with sensitive information, want to become familiar with development road-maps 17and, in particular, seek to evaluate the track record of the mainstream open source project teams. 18</p><p> 19Wherever the OSSI gains entrance to new opportunities we find that Microsoft Windows technologies are the 20benchmark against which open source software solutions are measured. Two open source software projects 21are key to our ability to present a structured and convincing proposition that there are alternatives 22to the incumbent proprietary means of meeting information technology needs. They are the Apache Web Server 23and Samba. 24</p><p> 25Just as the Apache Web Server is the standard in web serving technology, Samba is the definitive standard 26for providing interoperability with UNIX systems and other non-Microsoft operating system platforms. Both 27open source applications have a truly remarkable track record that extends for more than a decade. Both have 28demonstrated the unique capacity to innovate and maintain a level of development that has not only kept 29pace with demands, but, in many areas, each project has also proven to be an industry leader. 30</p><p> 31One of the areas in which the Samba project has demonstrated key leadership is in documentation. The OSSI 32was delighted when we saw the Samba Team, and John H. Terpstra in particular, release two amazingly 33well-written books to help Samba software users deploy, maintain, and troubleshoot Windows networking 34installations. We were concerned that, given the large volume of documentation, the challenge to maintain 35it and keep it current might prove difficult. 36</p><p> 37This second edition of the book, <span class="emphasis"><em>Samba-3 by Example</em></span>, barely one year following the release 38of the first edition, has removed all concerns and is proof that open source solutions are a compelling choice. 39The first edition was released shortly following the release of Samba version 3.0 itself, and has become 40the authoritative instrument for training and for guiding deployment. 41</p><p> 42I am personally aware of how much effort has gone into this second edition. John Terpstra has worked with 43government bodies and with large organizations that have deployed Samba-3 since it was released. He also 44worked to ensure that this book gained community following. He asked those who have worked at the coalface 45of large and small organizations alike, to contribute their experiences. He has captured that in this book 46and has succeeded yet again. His recipe is persistence, intuition, and a high level of respect for the people 47who use Samba. 48</p><p> 49This book is the first source you should turn to before you deploy Samba and as you are mastering its 50deployment. I am proud and excited to be associated in a small way with such a useful tool. This book has 51reached maturity that is demonstrated by reiteration that every step in deployment must be validated. 52This book makes it easy to succeed, and difficult to fail, to gain a stable network environment. 53</p><p> 54I recommend this book for use by all IT managers and network administrators. 55</p></blockquote></div></div></div><div class="navfooter"><hr><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="pr02.html">Prev</a>�</td><td width="20%" align="center">�</td><td width="40%" align="right">�<a accesskey="n" href="preface.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">Acknowledgments�</td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top">�Preface</td></tr></table></div></body></html> 56