Apple to Replace Samba for Windows Networking

Due to licensing restrictions, Apple is reportedly removing Samba, the mechanism OS X uses to connect to Windows file and network directory services, from Mac OS X Lion. Instead, the upcoming release of Lion will use Apple's own networking software, according to AppleInsider.

The Samba team has moved active development of the project to the more strict GPLv3 license, which prevents Apple from using the software commercially.

Developers report that Apple has internally officially announced that it will pull Samba from Mac OS X Lion and Lion Server, and replace it with Windows networking software developed by Apple.


Apple's Windows file sharing software in Lion will reportedly provide most of the services Samba does but will not support the NT Domain Controller features that were replaced by Active Directory. The good news is that Apple's software likely won't suffer from the issues that Samba had when networking with Windows 7.

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