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diff --git a/docs/guide/foreword.xml b/docs/guide/foreword.xml new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..402f181ac8 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/guide/foreword.xml @@ -0,0 +1,118 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?> +<!DOCTYPE book PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.2//EN" + "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.2/docbookx.dtd" [ + + <!-- Stuff for xincludes --> + <!ENTITY % xinclude SYSTEM "../entities/xinclude.dtd"> + %xinclude; + + <!-- entities files to use --> + <!ENTITY % global_entities SYSTEM '../entities/global.entities'> + %global_entities; + +]> + +<preface lang="en-US"> +<title>Foreword</title> + +<sect1><title>By Dan Kusnetzky, IDC</title> +<blockquote> +<attribution> +Dan Kusnetzky, Vice President System Software Research, International Data Corporation +</attribution> + +<para> +IDC's software research group has been conducting research on the market for software, +including operating environments, for over twenty years. In 1994, the system software +research team started to field questions from its subscribers on Linux. We had very +little empirical data to offer when these queries first were heard, so IDC added Linux +to its operating environment research agenda. The first demand and supply side research +containing IDC's findings on Linux started to appear in early 1995. +</para> + +<para> +IDC has watched as Linux marched from being software for computer hobbyists to being +a mainstream choice in many markets worldwide. This march is very similar to the adoption +cycle UNIX experienced in the 1970s and 1980s. Windows repeated this pattern of adoption +during the 1980s and 1990s. IDC has long projected that Linux would be a mainstream +choice in nearly all markets by the end of 2005. The software is well down that path +now and just might beat IDC's projections. +</para> + +<para> +As of the end of 2002, Linux was the number three desktop or client operating environment, +responsible for nearly 3% of the worldwide shipments of client operating environment +software. Linux was the number two server operating environment, responsible for nearly +25% of the worldwide shipments of server operating environment software. This is an amazing +level of growth from its rather humble beginnings of holding less than 1% share of either +client or server operating environment market when IDC first started publishing its findings +on Linux. +</para> + +<para> +IDC's demand-side studies have indicated that Linux is most often utilized as a platform +for basic infrastructure services, such as supporting access to shared files and printers +or supporting basic networking functions. IDC's most recent survey, conducted in late 2003, +indicated that supporting file and print services was the most common use of Linux. Samba +and NFS are the most commonly mentioned approaches to offering file and print services on +Linux. +</para> + +<para> +Nearly all of IDC's operating environment studies have shown that Linux is being added +into organizational networks that already include Windows, UNIX, and mainframe operating +environments. This, of course, means that interoperability with these operating environments +is a crucial success factor for Linux. +</para> + +<para> +All of this leads to the book in hand, <emphasis>Samba-3 By Example</emphasis>, by John H. Terpstra, It addresses +the most commonly heard questions about bringing Linux and Samba into a Windows or UNIX +focused environment. Namely, organizations voice concerns about staff having sufficient +levels of expertise to facilitate development, administration, operations and support activities +around the adoption of Linux and Samba. I expect <emphasis>Samba-3</emphasis> by Example will be of enormous help +to Windows or UNIX administrators hoping to gain a level of comfort and familiarity with both +Linux and Samba. +</para> + +<para> +Samba is a mature open source software product that is well established as a leading Windows +file and print technology in use on large-scale UNIX systems. Its stability and scalability +appears to be well respected. This book demonstrates easy approaches to implementing Samba-3 +no matter whether your network is large or small. It is a book that would make a fine addition +to the network administrators' library! +</para> +</blockquote> + +</sect1> + +<sect1> +<title>By Andrew Tridgell, Samba Team</title> + +<blockquote><attribution> +Andrew Tridgell, President, Samba Team +</attribution> + +<para> +I've always been the sort of computer user that learns best by +example. Seeing a complete example matching a real-world use of a +piece of software gives me an understanding of that software far +better than reading detailed manuals. If, like me, you are the sort of +computer user that learns best by example then this book is for you. +</para> + +<para> +I was also delighted to see the use of ethereal to illustrate the +network protocols used by Samba. Ethereal has developed into a very +sophisticated network analysis tool, and familiarity with using +ethereal is a very useful skill for any system administrator. +</para> + +<para> +Enjoy this book, and make the most of Samba! +</para> +</blockquote> + +</sect1> + +</preface> |