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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

All of this leads to the book in hand, Samba-3 By Example, 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 Samba-3 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.

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!

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.

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.

Enjoy this book, and make the most of Samba!