Changed DOMAIN.txt to try to explain terms like domain, workgroup,

authentication. NT SAM is only one case of many kinds of distributed
authorisation database. Domain logons, RAP etc should all work perfectly
from NT workstations to Samba servers no matter what username/passwd
database lies underneath (once the protocols have been implemented, of
course.... :-)
(This used to be commit 9dfdd47bb56b2a5418908f8fc4bd9f3e80df858c)

1 files changed, 35 insertions, 6 deletions

diff --git a/docs/textdocs/DOMAIN.txt b/docs/textdocs/DOMAIN.txt
index 61970a1700..87a86a73fe 100644
--- a/docs/textdocs/DOMAIN.txt
+++ b/docs/textdocs/DOMAIN.txt
@@ -4,12 +4,41 @@ Updated:	June 27, 1997
 Subject:	Network Logons and Roving Profiles
 ===========================================================================
 
-Samba supports domain logons, network logon scripts and user profiles.
-The support is still experimental, but it seems to work.
-
-The support is also not complete. Samba does not yet support the
-sharing of the SAM database with other systems, or remote administration.
-Support for these kind of things should be added sometime in the future.
+A domain and a workgroup are exactly the same thing in terms of network
+functionality. The difference is topological and is determined by where
+the authentication database is stored. Every workgroup server has its
+own database of usernames and passwords, whereas a domain has a single
+logon facility made possible by a distributed password database.
+
+The SMB client logging on to a domain has an expectation that every other
+server in the domain should accept the same authentication information.
+However the network functionality of domains and workgroups is identical
+and is explained in BROWSING.txt.
+
+Issues related to the single-logon network model are discussed in this
+document. Samba supports domain logons, network logon scripts and user
+profiles.  The support is still experimental, but it seems to work.
+
+The support is also not complete. Samba does not yet support the sharing
+of the Windows NT-style SAM database with other systems. However this is
+only one way of having a shared user database: exactly the same effect can
+be achieved by having all servers in a domain share a distributed NIS or
+Kerberos authentication database.
+
+When an SMB client in a domain wishes to logon it broadcast requests for a
+logon server.  The first one to reply gets the job, and validates its
+password using whatever mechanism the Samba administrator has installed.
+It is possible (but very stupid) to create a domain where the user
+database is not shared between servers, ie they are effectively workgroup
+servers advertising themselves as participating in a domain. This
+demonstrates how authentication is quite different from but closely
+involved with domains.
+
+Another thing commonly associated with single-logon domains is remote
+administration over the SMB protocol. Again, there is no reason why this
+cannot be implemented with an underlying username database which is
+different from the Windows NT SAM. Support for the Remote Administration
+Protocol is planned for a future release of Samba.
 
 The domain support works for WfWg, and Win95 clients. Support for Windows
 NT and OS/2 clients is still being worked on and is still experimental.