1 files changed, 136 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/README b/README
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..596dbd570c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README
@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+Samba 4 is the ambitious next version of the Samba suite that is being
+developed in parallel to the stable 3.0 series. The main emphasis in
+this branch is support for the Active Directory logon protocols used
+by Windows 2000 and above.
+
+While we welcome your interest in Samba 4, we don't want you to run your network with it quite yet. Please note the WARNINGS below, and the STATUS file,
+which aims to document what should and should not work.
+
+With 4 years of development under our belt since Tridge first proposed
+a new Virtual File System (VFS) layer for Samba3 (a project which
+eventually lead to our Active Directory efforts), we felt that we
+should create something we could 'show off' to our users.  This is a
+Technology Preview (TP), aimed at allowing you, our users, managers and
+developers to see how we have progressed, and to invite your feedback and
+support.
+
+WARNINGS
+========
+
+Samba4 TP is currently a pre-alpha technology.  That is more a
+reference to Samba4's lack of the features we expect you will need
+than a statement of code quality, but clearly it hasn't seen a broad
+deployment yet.  If you were to upgrade Samba3 (or indeed Windows) to
+Samba4, you would find many things work, but that other key features
+you may have relied on simply are not there yet.
+
+For example, while Samba 3.0 is an excellent member of a Active
+Directory domain, Samba4 is happier as a domain controller: (This is
+where we have done most of the research and development).
+
+While Samba4 is subjected to an awesome battery of tests on an
+automated basis, and we have found Samba4 to be very stable in it's
+behaviour, we have to recommend against upgrading production servers
+from Samba 3 to Samba 4 at this stage.  If you are upgrading an
+experimental server, or looking to develop and test Samba, you should
+backup all configuration and data.
+
+As we research the needs of Active Directory integration more closely,
+we may need to change the format of the user database, in particular
+as we begin to understand how the attributes are generated and stored.
+At a worst case, we expect users will be able to extract the stored
+data as LDIF and hand munge it, but until we make an alpha release, we
+won't do this automatically.  Indeed, many module changes are simply
+easier to cope with if you just re-provision after the upgrade.
+
+We value the security of your computers, and so we must warn you that
+Samba 4 Technology Preview includes basic Access Control List (ACL)
+protection on the main user database, but due to time constraints,
+none on the registry at this stage.  We also do not currently have
+ACLs on the SWAT web-based management tool. This means that Samba 4
+Technology Preview is not secure, and should not be exposed to
+untrusted networks.
+
+Within the above proviso, file system access should occur as the
+logged in user, much as Samba3 does.
+
+As such, we must strongly recommend against using Samba4 in a
+production environment at this stage.
+
+NEW FEATURES
+============
+
+Samba4 supports the server-side of the Active Directory logon environment
+used by Windows 2000 and later, so we can do full domain join
+and domain logon operations with these clients.
+
+Our Domain Controller (DC) implementation includes our own built-in
+LDAP server and Kerberos Key Distribution Centre (KDC) as well as the
+Samba3-like logon services provided over CIFS.  We correctly generate
+the infamous Kerberos PAC, and include it with the Kerberos tickets we
+issue.
+
+SWAT is now integrated into Samba 4 as the user-friendly interface to
+Samba server management. SWAT provides easy access to our
+setup and migration tools.  Using SWAT, you can migrate windows
+domains in Samba 4, allowing easy setup of initial user databases, and
+upgrades from Samba 3.
+
+The new VFS features in Samba 4 adapts the file-system on the server to
+match the Windows client semantics, allowing Samba 4 to better match
+windows behaviour and application expectations.  This includes file
+annotation information (in streams) and NT ACLs in particular.  The
+VFS is backed with an extensive automated test suite.
+
+A new scripting interface has been added to Samba 4, allowing
+JavaScript programs to interface to Samba's internals.
+
+The Samba 4 architecture is based around an LDAP-like database that
+can use a range of modular backends.  One of the backends supports
+standards compliant LDAP servers (including OpenLDAP), and we are
+working on modules to map between AD-like behaviours and this back-end.
+We are aiming for Samba 4 to be powerful front-end to large
+directories.
+
+CHANGES
+=======
+
+Those familiar with Samba 3 can find a list of user-visible changes
+since that release series in the NEWS file.
+
+ - An optional password is no longer supported as the second argument to 
+   smbclient.
+
+ - The default location of smb.conf in non-FHS builds has changed from the 
+   PREFIX/lib directory to the PREFIX/etc directory.
+
+KNOWN ISSUES
+============
+
+- Standalone server and domain member roles are not currently
+  supported.  While we have much of the infrastructure required, we
+  have not collected these pieces together. 
+
+- There is no printing support in the current release.
+
+- SWAT can be painful with <TAB> and forms.  Just use the mouse, as
+  the JavaScript layer doing this will change.
+
+RUNNING Samba4
+==============
+
+A short guide to setting up Samba 4 can be found in the howto.txt file
+in root of the tarball.
+
+DEVELOPMENT and FEEDBACK
+========================
+Bugs can be filed at https://bugzilla.samba.org/. Please
+look at the STATUS file before filing a bug to see if a particular
+is supposed to work yet.
+
+Development and general discussion about Samba 4 happens mainly on
+the #samba-technical IRC channel (on irc.freenode.net) and
+the samba-technical mailing list (see http://lists.samba.org/ for
+details).
+
+