I am trying to compile samba 3.5.6 in ubuntu 10.10 but I don't know how to get all the binaries to install in the right place. Default path for 3.5.6 is /usr/local/samba but in the ubuntu samba package, some binaries are in /usr/bin and some are in /usr/sbin. How can I get the install to put everything where it needs to go or will I have to manually move or link all the binaries?

Thanks!

I can't speak directly to compiling samba on 10.10, but in general, when you compile a program, you run a ./configure script or some such. If you run ./configure --help, you will find that you can set the installation path for various parts of the program, along with other options that you can pass to the configure script. If samba doesn't have such a configure script, then often you can adjust that stuff in the make file.
Perhaps someone with some more direct experience can give you more accurate pointers...

Thanks for the tip. I looked at ./configure --help and the relevant portion is:

Installation directories:
--prefix=PREFIX install architecture-independent files in PREFIX
[/usr/local/samba]
--exec-prefix=EPREFIX install architecture-dependent files in EPREFIX
[PREFIX]

By default, `make install' will install all the files in
`/usr/local/samba/bin', `/usr/local/samba/lib' etc. You can specify
an installation prefix other than `/usr/local/samba' using `--prefix',
for instance `--prefix=$HOME'.

This is followed by some specific commands for changing directories manually for each type of file.

Now if I only knew what paths to specify. . . Does anyone with knowledge of samba and ubuntu have any suggestions? Thanks.

Well, you can use the defaults. It's not like they wont' work, you just might find something you would expect to be in /etc/ in /usr/local/etc/ or something instead.
Otherwise, you can put things where you like. if you don't like it you can make uninstall or some such, re./configure, and install again...

I suppose so, but the ubuntu programs that depend on samba (gadmin, smb4k, etc.) will expect it to be in the default ubuntu locations, won't they?

hmm.. maybe, but I don't think so.
I expect that when you install samba, it will put the binaries somewhere in your path, so that when other programs call them, they will just be there.
I suppose if you put all your paths to completely non-sensible locations, you could create that problem though

I am beginning to think I should've uninstalled the old ubuntu samba package before compiling and installing the new samba from source. If the old samba scripts were still there when the new binaries were placed in the path (residing in different default directories from the old), it may still be calling the old ones.

Does that make any sense?

A while back, I had to recompile Apache from source to make use of SNI. I too had problem getting the layout correct. See this link. Specifically, look at the part on configuring Apache (compiling) where it says:
The --enable-layout=Debian should get you the proper file locations, but it was not one of the standard layouts that I recalled seeing in the configure help or documentation.

Thanks to both of you for the input. I may just have to wait for an ubuntu package rather than risk screwing things up even more. I have a working server now. I just can't access any Windows 7 computers on the network and the updated samba was supposed to fix that.

you might look in the natty repos or the debian unstable repos.....they might have the new package already for you.

also check the ubuntu forum since I bet its a pretty hot topic if they cant access win7 yet

oh one last thought sometimes linux mint has things like this figured out so they may already have the new .deb for you in their repos or check their forum

Thanks for the tip! Here is something I found:

https://launchpad.net/~polslinux/+ar...+build/2024025

Does this look safe to use? Looks like it's for Lucid but I guess it would work on Maverick.

Would I have to download each of the .deb files and install them separately or is there some easier way to do it?

Thanks.

Also just found this:

https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source...~dfsg-1ubuntu1

I've never used launchpad before, so I'd be grateful if someone could explain it to me.

Ubuntu is backed and supported by a company called Canonical and launchpad is the software repository and bug tracking system / mail list and archive tool. The code uploaded to Launchpad has been signed by the Ubuntu developers and should be about as safe as you can get in terms of malware. However, as you can see from the links you have found, it is where the work is being done on the integration of the latest application updates, such as Samba 2.3.5.6.

In this case, it shows that they were able to successfully compile the latest samba edition for Ubuntu. It also required updates to various other packages, the .deb files you were asking about. In order to run the samba you will probably need those upgrades too, assuming you don't already have them. The risk you face is that these other libraries may break other functions. This risk is reduced, but not eliminated, when you wait for the official distribution upgrade.

Theoretically, if you run into trouble you can downgrade a package in Synaptic, but I have never seen this as being an option when even I have looked for it.

The following worked for me:

./configure --exec-prefix=/usr/ --with-configdir=/etc/samba/