Samba 4.23.0 released: A Major Release for Secure and Scalable File Services
Samba, the most feature-rich open-source implementation of the SMB and Active Directory protocols, has released version 4.23.0. This significant update brings numerous improvements, new features, and bug fixes that enhance file services security, scalability, and performance.
What's New in Samba 4.23.0
Key Features
- SMB3 Unix Extensions: Enabled by default, these extensions provide first-class support for POSIX semantics over SMB3, allowing UNIX and Linux clients to access file services with features like proper POSIX permissions, symlink handling, hardlinks, and special file types.
- SMB3 over QUIC: Samba now supports SMB3 over QUIC (Quick UDP Internet Connections), enabling faster and more reliable connections. This feature requires the quic.ko kernel module on Linux 6.14 or later.
- Modern Write Time Update Logic: Samba 4.23 changes file timestamp handling to match modern Windows servers, applying immediate timestamp updates consistent with Windows 10/Server 2016 or newer.
New Utilities and Features
- smb_prometheus_endpoint: A new utility that exports Samba server metrics in Prometheus-compatible format, enabling seamless integration into existing Prometheus and Grafana environments.
- Per-share Profiling Stats: Users can collect profile counters at a per-share level, monitoring individual share activity and identifying potential bottlenecks or hot-spots.
Bug Fixes and Improvements
- CTDB Changes: CTDB now supports loading tunables from /etc/ctdb/tunables.d/*.tunables, allowing vendors to ship their required tunables settings while still allowing local administrators to add their own settings.
- samba-tool domain backup --no-secrets: This option creates a backup without secret attributes, suitable for use in a lab domain.
Removed Features
- smb.conf changes: The following parameters have been removed: smbd profiling share, client smb transports, server smb transports, and winbind varlink service.
Upgrade to Samba 4.23.0
To upgrade your existing Samba installation, follow the instructions in the Samba 4.23.0 Release Notes and ensure that you have the latest version of the package manager and dependencies.
By upgrading to Samba 4.23.0, you'll benefit from improved security, scalability, and performance features, as well as new utilities and bug fixes that enhance your file services experience.
Download
The uncompressed tarballs and patch files are available for download from:
https://download.samba.org/pub/samba/stable/
The release notes can be accessed online at:
https://www.samba.org/samba/history/samba-4.23.0.html
