[OpenAFS] status of samba serving AFS file space? other non-native windows access?

[Dan Pritts]

Hi folks -

what's the current status of using samba to serve files from an 
AFS backend to windows clients?  I could easily use Linux or Solaris
as the samba server.  Other platforms would be possible.

how does handle file locking?  How does it handle authentication?

can you successfully use MS office documents from the share?

We're having some issues with deploying the windows AFS client to some
of our staff, and I'm considering my alternatives.  

Other alternatives folks are using would be interesting too (webdav?).  

Anyone have any experience with this?

  http://www.sftpdrive.com/

[background] 

since i know folks will be interested, here's the scoop with our issues
with the windows client.  I am not interested in starting any flame wars,
and really i'm not interested in discussing the problems we've had with
the windows client.  I personally am interested in making AFS work,
but it has the potential to become a huge political issue within our
organization and i'd like to avoid that.

Bottom line, our accounting staff has had a lot of bad experience with
testing afs on the windows desktop.  Some of it has been in the form
of long delays accessing files (which I think was related to recent
bug fixes in the server code, and I think this problem is gone). 

some of it has been mysterious issues with changes not being saved.
I think this is really because they are simultaneously editing AFS
files with MS office, because they refuse to drag files to their desktop
before opening and the 1.4 client we're using doesn't try to create any
AFS locks.   Yes i know that 1.5 should solve this problem but i've been
worried what else will happen with the unstable branch.

The situation is a lot better with the 1.4.2 rc client, but they're
at the point that they have lost patience with problems and I need to
give them something that just works.  I'm hoping to avoid that solution
being a windows file server, since we will continue to use afs within
the organization, but it's not out of the question.

thanks, 
danno
--
Dan Pritts, System Administrator
Internet2
office: +1-734-352-4953 | mobile: +1-734-834-7224