Samba 4's aimed squarely at the Windows server side of things this time around, as the software now supports the Active Directory logon environment. The new software also incorporates a web-based administration tool(SWAT). This is only a technology preview, though, so don't go planning your upgrades anytime soon.

"Tridge demonstrated sucking the life out a Windows 2003 PDC [primary domain controller] in one click, importing all its user and machine information using SWAT. He then restarted [domain server] BIND on his Samba 4 server, changed the server role to PDC ... shut down the Windows PDC and then logged into the domain with an XP client using the new Samba 4 server as the PDC."