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I have plenty of working alternatives to CIFS; listing them isn't my point with the original post. Since Samba is explicitly a CIFS implementation, originally

by stonogo 11y ago

I have plenty of working alternatives to CIFS; listing them isn't my point with the original post. Since Samba is explicitly a CIFS implementation, originally named after SMB, I think it's pretty obvious that "even Samba" would use CIFS. The point is this is not the first time there have been protocol-level SNAFUs with this specific approach. Nowadays maturity, vendor support, and Windows clients are all available from lots of places (I don't know what "staff knowledge" means other than "we're used to this tool"). It's always worthwhile to spend time evaluating your infrastructure and investigating if there might be other solutions that have arisen. It's not a Windows-only world any more, even at the enterprise level, and active directory is no longer the unassailable fortress of big ops that it once was. It's just a reminder to keep an open mind, that's all.

Someone1234 11y ago
> It's not a Windows-only world any more, even at the enterprise level, and active directory is no longer the unassailable fortress of big ops that it once was. Then name the alternative. Or tell us how to run AD without CIFS. If you cannot do either then your point about "evaluating your infrastructure" is a waste of time. You can evaluate it until you're blue in the face, but if there are no alternatives then there are no alternatives. Heck just name a real alternative to GPO? A lot of people seem to think you can just slot in a Mac or Linux machine without any real grasp of how enterprise looks today. IBM are no doubt working on Linux deployment, but we're still likely years away, and Apple has focused more on iPads than Macs in the enterprise. You don't want people using CIFS, but in 2016 that just isn't possible. It is mandatory for any AD environment and AD is more or less the only large scale enterprise solution. Therefore unless Microsoft redesign AD to use something other than CIFS, it isn't going away.
- stonogo 11y ago
  I'm not really interested in setting up a series of straw men for you to knock down. I'm not looking to get into an internet argument about minutiae. Nowhere did I say "I don't want people using CIFS." I said it's worth deciding if CIFS is crucial to your business. This is always the case, for any technology, especially older, network-facing solutions that are basically propped up by lock-in and tradition. BIND is another great example of software that should provoke some introspection. If you don't know anything or are unable to implement anything better than AD, then use AD. Meanwhile, AD is certainly not "the only large scale enterprise solution." I have hundreds of thousands of users and no AD, GPO, CIFS, or any other MSCE topic involved in my network. Please try not to take offense at this situation. I'm sorry that the mere suggestion of alternatives enrages you to this degree, but I'm not interested in this "prove it / no that won't work" meme.
  - Someone1234 11y ago
    > I'm not really interested in setting up a series of straw men for you to knock down. I'm not looking to get into an internet argument about minutiae. This isn't minutiae. This is the core point of your entire post. You broadly criticise people for their continued use of CIFS and suggest people evaluate alternatives. > I said it's worth deciding if CIFS is crucial to your business. In enterprise, yes, it is crucial to businesses. There is no supported alternative. > Meanwhile, AD is certainly not "the only large scale enterprise solution." I have hundreds of thousands of users and no AD, GPO, CIFS, or any other MSCE topic involved in my network. Using what? I just asked you to tell us what the alternatives are. Even now you still haven't.
  - Robin_Message 11y ago
    Could you tell us a bit about the alternative you are using? Do you have Windows and Mac client machines? I, for one, would be interested in a practical AD alternative.
holigey 11y ago
> I have plenty of working alternatives to CIFS Can you please list those? I have been working on CIFS for over 5years and haven't come across any alternative for CIFS in AD environment. Are you thinking of LDAP?

by stonogo 11y ago

Someone1234 11y ago

> It's not a Windows-only world any more, even at the enterprise level, and active directory is no longer the unassailable fortress of big ops that it once was. Then name the alternative. Or tell us how to run AD without CIFS. If you cannot do either then your point about "evaluating your infrastructure" is a waste of time. You can evaluate it until you're blue in the face, but if there are no alternatives then there are no alternatives. Heck just name a real alternative to GPO? A lot of people seem to think you can just slot in a Mac or Linux machine without any real grasp of how enterprise looks today. IBM are no doubt working on Linux deployment, but we're still likely years away, and Apple has focused more on iPads than Macs in the enterprise. You don't want people using CIFS, but in 2016 that just isn't possible. It is mandatory for any AD environment and AD is more or less the only large scale enterprise solution. Therefore unless Microsoft redesign AD to use something other than CIFS, it isn't going away.

stonogo 11y ago
I'm not really interested in setting up a series of straw men for you to knock down. I'm not looking to get into an internet argument about minutiae. Nowhere did I say "I don't want people using CIFS." I said it's worth deciding if CIFS is crucial to your business. This is always the case, for any technology, especially older, network-facing solutions that are basically propped up by lock-in and tradition. BIND is another great example of software that should provoke some introspection. If you don't know anything or are unable to implement anything better than AD, then use AD. Meanwhile, AD is certainly not "the only large scale enterprise solution." I have hundreds of thousands of users and no AD, GPO, CIFS, or any other MSCE topic involved in my network. Please try not to take offense at this situation. I'm sorry that the mere suggestion of alternatives enrages you to this degree, but I'm not interested in this "prove it / no that won't work" meme.
- Someone1234 11y ago
  > I'm not really interested in setting up a series of straw men for you to knock down. I'm not looking to get into an internet argument about minutiae. This isn't minutiae. This is the core point of your entire post. You broadly criticise people for their continued use of CIFS and suggest people evaluate alternatives. > I said it's worth deciding if CIFS is crucial to your business. In enterprise, yes, it is crucial to businesses. There is no supported alternative. > Meanwhile, AD is certainly not "the only large scale enterprise solution." I have hundreds of thousands of users and no AD, GPO, CIFS, or any other MSCE topic involved in my network. Using what? I just asked you to tell us what the alternatives are. Even now you still haven't.
- Robin_Message 11y ago
  Could you tell us a bit about the alternative you are using? Do you have Windows and Mac client machines? I, for one, would be interested in a practical AD alternative.

holigey 11y ago

> I have plenty of working alternatives to CIFS Can you please list those? I have been working on CIFS for over 5years and haven't come across any alternative for CIFS in AD environment. Are you thinking of LDAP?