Re: [tbox-l] samba packaging

[David C. <cl...@au...>]

  You found the right place.  Since the Toolbox is unsupported, there is not a
"formal" channel for support or requests; sending mail to this list is the best
place to ask.

  As for samba, other requests for an update have been made, and release of
a newer version has been pending for a long time.  I can confirm that samba
version 3.* builds pretty cleanly on AIX, if you'd like to try it.  The slow
pace of updates (which applies to everything in the Toolbox), is not because of
compatibility problems with building these things on AIX -- the delay is because
extensive legal scrutiny is required of all open source package updates that
we distribute; great care must be taken because this is code that we did not
write and do not own copyrights for.  (Unfortunately I can't comment on any
specifics of the legal review process, but I promise that the lawyers are busy.)
I wish we could update more packages more frequently, but the rules are strict.
At any rate, I don't have a guess on an update projection.

So... what options exist?

  If currency of the version is not of foremost importance, then the AIX Toolbox
images may still meet your needs.  You can update on occassion, when the Toolbox
eventually does, though the time between updates is large and unpredictable.

  If you need version updates more frequently than the Toolbox is capable of
providing, you may want to consider other sites which can do package updates
more frequently.  Some overlap with Toolbox packages, while others are uniquely
available at the respective sites.  The two well known sites are:

  UCLA site -- they have samba 3.0.2a:
  http://aixpdslib.seas.ucla.edu/packages/samba.html

  Bull freeware site -- They have samba too (at last check), but I cannot
  confirm a version as I write this because their site says it is to temporarily
  unavailable.

  There are also fee-based groups out there that will provide built packages for
you; one example that I am aware of is www.thewrittenword.com.  Though not free,
it may be worth considering if the need is strong.

  Finally, the most flexible approach (though with more work involved), is to
build the code locally.  Depending on your background, you might find that this
is not so difficult; you needn't have any special familiarity with the code in
order to build it.  In most cases, it is just a matter of downloading the
source tarball and following the instructions provided.  If you know a little
about rpm and spec files, you could go a little further and build an rpm
image by copying the last available spec file from the Toolbox FTP site,
updating the revision number, and running "rpm -ba" on the spec file.  Well,
there's a little more to it; you'd need to have most of the basic GNU
development util rpms installed such as 'make' and 'install', either the VAC or
gcc compiler, etc.
  In fact, if you are trying to build your own copy of a Toolbox package, this
mailing list would be a good place to ask questions of or share experiences with
other users who build and/or run Toolbox open source packages on AIX.

On Tue, Jun 01, 2004 at 05:27:40PM -0400, Jay...@ho... wrote:
> 
> Is there a process for requesting AIX Linux Toobox package updates -
> specifically samba 2.2.7 to 3.0.4?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> aixtoolbox-list mailing list
> aix...@ww...
> http://www-124.ibm.com/developerworks/oss/mailman/listinfo/aixtoolbox-list

-- 
David Clissold
cl...@au...