In this chapter, we will begin with the GNU/Linux distribution, which we will use as the base operating system (OS) to run the Samba 4 software. We will install packages and execute some basic and fundamental configurations on the system. We will cover the following subtopics:
A quick overview of the installation process of the GNU/Linux distribution Debian 7.0 (Wheezy). This OS installation procedure will not be covered in much detail, because it should be really straightforward for the reader. Also, there are many excellent resources available online for further reading in case of any doubts regarding the installation process of GNU/Linux.
How to install and configure all the dependencies needed for a proper Samba 4 installation.
Step-by-step procedures and explicit command line examples to install the Samba 4 software.
How to use the Debian's official packages and repositories for all the dependencies.
How to install the Samba 4 Server using the source code (stable branch) from the official GIT repository of the project.
How to perform basic validations of the Samba 4 Server installation to be sure that the environment is ready for configuration and to provide a full range of the network services for which it's intended.
It's really important to have a sane environment on which the user can rely on and be sure that any issues faced later at the production phase are not caused by an unmet dependency, misconfiguration of one of the needed core parts of the OS, or even caused upon an auxiliary service (for example, the dhcp server) that is not properly configured or enabled.