[Pkg-samba-maint] Bug#573084: samba: Please split server binaries into a separate package for use by kvm/qemu/etc

[Josh Triplett]

On Mon, Mar 08, 2010 at 12:23:09PM -0800, Steve Langasek wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 08, 2010 at 11:44:34AM -0800, Josh Triplett wrote:
> > Installing the samba package brings in both the samba server binaries
> > such as smbd and the init scripts to run a systemwide samba server.
> 
> > However, kvm and qemu can use smbd to run a samba server via their
> > user-mode networking stacks, for use by the guest.  This requires smbd,
> > but not a system-wide samba server.
> 
> > Please consider splitting the samba server binaries into a separate
> > package, such as samba-bin, and having samba depend on samba-bin and add
> > the system-wide samba server configuration.  This would allow kvm and
> > qemu to suggest or even recommend samba-bin without forcing the user to
> > install and disable the system-wide samba server (or worse, fail to
> > disable it).
> 
> I think this is completely the wrong abstraction to use for such cases.  We
> shouldn't split out a separate binary package just for the init scripts; I
> think what we really need is better runlevel management tools.

Better tools in general do seem like a good idea, and I'd love to see a
more systematic approach to handle installing daemons versus running
services that use those daemons.  However, as such tools currently do
not exist, I'd like to avoid letting the hypothetical perfect solution
prevent implementing a working solution.  Note that apache, for example,
split out apache2.2-bin for similar reasons, so that gnome-user-share
could depend on apache2.2-bin without bringing in a system-wide web
server.

If you don't have the time or inclination to implement such a split,
would you consider accepting a patch providing such an implementation?

Thanks,
Josh Triplett