I had the same problem initially, but setting the PDC server IP as the WINS server on the client fixed it. Is there any further info on the error dialog?

On a bare metal install I got a the same 'Domain not found' message, but it was actually a username/password issue (Thanks Microsoft). I assume you're using the Samba 'Administrator'/'turnkey' user/pwd combo not 'root'/'[rootpassword]'?

As for pinging the hostname, remember, we're in NETBIOS territory, not DNS. So the servername is just PDC.

Samba4-alpha8 is in the Lucid repos, so it'll be a simple case of apt-get install samba4. Config on the other hand, I have no idea about....

which adds an extra layer of complexity to your problems/troubleshooting. Being alpha software you will find:

• it is experimental so you will be unlikely to get any support from Samba unless you are using the latest version (I think its up to alpha11?) which will involve installing from git/tar.gz rather than from a standard repo (or .deb). Even then it will most likely involve lots of work for you too.
• very few people are using it as its not good practice to use alpha/experimental software in a production environment, so getting help from people who know all about it will probably be a struggle.
• with any problems that arise, it may be hard to work out whether you are experiencing a bug or its just something you've done wrong.
• the documentation is limited and I strongly doubt you will find a comprehensive tutorial available until after it is offically released (later this year or early 2011).

Having said all that, there appears to be some quite reasonable "how to" documentation on the official Samba wiki (Samba4 background info here).

If you are just testing/having a play with it and checking out what it can do etc then good luck. I would probably suggest searching/posting on the Ubuntu forums as you have a higher chance of finding someone there who is also working with Samba4 in a similar environment.

Botom line is that if you want to play with bleeding edge software be prepared for it to hurt (they don't call it bleeding edge for nothing)!

OTOH if you are looking to deploy a working Active Directory server in a production environment then I hate to say it but I think you need to bite the bullet and purchase a copy of Windows Server. You could probably still find an OEM copy of SMB2003 floating around somewhere.

As you were asking about Samba4 and above you said: "Actually, I don't use the appliance." I misunderstood and thought you were trying to set up a Samba4 PDC in Ubuntu Lucid/10.04.

Have you had a look at the Quick Start Guide written by Codehead? If you still can't get it to work perhaps it may be worth starting again from scratch to ensure you have a clean start and that none of the things you have tried interfere with the setup. If there is anything you don't understand, post back here and we'll try to help.

I know there is a blueprint for a "network services" box but Mandriva Directory Server appears to answer most, if not all, the requirements and would surely be easier to implement.  There are instructions around for building it on Debian.

I'd be willing to contribute some $ to have something like this built.  I'm actually stunned that something like this isn't built into Ubuntu 10.04.  Surely it's time.

When I try to use apt-get install samba4, it tells me this error:

E: Couldn't find package samba4

Here is what it says when trying to install samba4:

> apt-get install samba4
Reading package lists...
Building dependency tree...
Reading state information...
E: Couldn't find package samba4

Please could someone tell me what I am doing wrong? can someone tell me why I can't install samba4 from apt-get install?

Hi There

This looks like a network settings issue.

Have you altered anything on the server side Windows Networking page?

I see you have PDC.local which is different from the default.

Also on the same page, check that "Be WINS Server" is checked.

Regards