Is there, or will there be, an official comment regarding Samba networking updates?

Community Archives WD TV Live Networking
1

I can’t find any posting by WD regarding the issue of the Samba change in 10.7 Lion and WD’s intended response for the WDTVs.

I would like to be updated as to whether it is better to move on to other vendors or wait for a recompiling of WD’s firmware.

Can someone point to WD’s response, or would a WD official kindly respond?

2

Um, why aren’t you demanding Apple issue a statement about when they will return support for the SMB1 protocol? After all that is what they removed.

SMB/Samba still works in the Windows and Linux world.

3

Um, because every other manufactuer of networking devices is stating that they are in the process of, or already have, addressed the issue. And that includes WD with regard to some of their other products.

The question yet answered is what WD is saying about the WDTV series…right?

4

parnott100 wrote:

Um, why aren’t you demanding Apple issue a statement about when they will return support for the SMB1 protocol? After all that is what they removed.

 

SMB/Samba still works in the Windows and Linux world.

 

 

Amen to that!

When you consider this + the time machine issues + several of the other changes Apple made out of the blue, Lion is an EPIC FAIL in terms of compaitbility with third party hardware/software. It’s like they are trying to force you to only use Apple approved/built devices…

5

Ardvark wrote:

 

It’s like they are trying to force you to only use Apple approved/built devices…

Or trying to get vendors to use a superior protocol with stronger encryption.

6

echelon1 wrote:

 

Or trying to get vendors to use a superior protocol with stronger encryption.

And why exactly do you need stronger encryption on a home network?

The device is intended as a home media player connected to a home network. Why would you need ‘stronger encryption’? I am very interested to understand why you think this extra security layer (i.e. performance hit) is necessary for a home network?

I don’t need to use any encryption on my home network. I have nothing to hide from other members of my household.

(PS. Please let us know when you hear back from Apple as to when they will resume support for the SMB1 protocol.)

  

7

My box and the .pdf manual and the online specs make no mention of the device being SMB2-compatible.

Yes, they are working on it (as far as I can tell), but WD is under no obligation to add SMB2 capabilities to the firmware.

If you choose an incompatible operating system, that’s your choice… but the world doesn’t need to come to a stop to address the ramifications of the choice you made.  As far as I know the world doesn’t revolve around you.

8

Um, because every other manufactuer of networking devices is stating that they are in the process of, or already have, addressed the issue.

What devices are you referring to? As for Media players, Boxee users, SOny users, and LG users are reporting the same problem with any Macs running Lion and their media players. None of them have reported when/if an updated version of Samba will be released in their respective firmwares (at least I could find no press releases or anything in their forums to say such). I have no Macs myself, only Linux and Windows boxes. Apple chose to break compatibility with a large portion of devices out there (NAS, media players, etc.). I would take your complaints to them, or wait until the SMB2 becomes more widely used.

9

… seriously…

It was known at least as far back as March that Apple was dropping Samba and writing their own protocol, SMBX, which would be compatible only with SMB2 under Vista and Win7.

Nobody ever claimed that SMBX would work with anything that still only uses SMB1.

So, why all the surprise that it, *gasp*, _ doesn’t _?

Sure… the Samba folks have scrambled to make Samba compatible with SMBX, but until the fixes are tested and compiled and tested, there’s nothing to be done.  Any Samba-based device became immediately incompatible, and for quite some time all the manufacturers had their hands tied and suffered the deluge of complaints while they waited for code they could use to try and make things SMBX-compatible.

Sure, Apple was free to not use Samba, and write their own code, due to the licensing restrictions… but they were also free to make their code backwards-compatible with SMB1 and simply chose not to.  They made a conscious choice to break compatibility with the vast majority of devices on the market.  So ya, let’s all yell at the manufacturers over Apple’s choice.

Did anyone put a gun to your head and force you to upgrade to Lion, knowing that it wouldn’t work with anything other than Win7 and Vista?

10

… as was previously mentioned, you can install Samba on OS X Lion easily enough - problem solved. This is not WD’s issue but Apple’s … 

11

A) There was no “surprise” indicated in my question. There were no surprises regarding support. There was a question.

B) No guns were involved in my decision to upgrade to Lion.

C) If you can’t understand the value of increased security provided by stronger encryption, then any explanation will further serve to confuse you, rather than help you. 

D) No one is aking for, nor wants, the world to stop spinning. Certainly not I.

E) LaCie, Seagate, and a number of other manufacturers have already released compatable firmware.

I believe that answers all of the questions put forth by the responders up to this point.

Does anyone have an answer to the original question?

12

Yes, but you have not explained is why YOU NEED all this extra security. I for one do’nt need the ‘security’. What is it you wish to hide by all this talk of security?

13

parnott100 wrote:

Yes, but you have not explained why YOU NEED all this extra security. I for one do’nt need the ‘security’. What is it you wish to hide by all this talk of security?

While your accusatory, unhelpful, and aggressive assumtions disguised as questions don’t deserve an answer, I’ll provide one regardless.

I volunteer (pro bono) as both a counselor and attorney for victims of DV.  The victims rarely have transportation, and subsequently that requires that I travel to them. My Mac is a laptop. Encryption and network safety should, at this point in the explanation you do not deserve, be obvious. Even to you. What perhaps has dawned on you in addition, is that some people use computers professionally and for recreation.

Now, all I wanted to discover was whether or not WD had, or was going to, make a statement as to whether or not they were going to recompile firmware to address Lion incompatability.

I did not judge WD, I did not demand a response, I did not suggest they were delelict, I did not blame WD for anything.

This hasn’t been a troll. I was anything but rude.

What is your excuse?

14

echelon1 wrote:

Does anyone have an answer to the original question?

Fair enough… I’m just so used to the “*bleeping* fix it now you *bleepety-bleep bleeps*!!!” posts that I may have read an intent in your posts that wasn’t there.

These forums are user-to-user.  WD rarely (although not never) pops in to say what bugs are being worked on and/or fixed in builds under testing.

To my knowledge, WD has never offered a maintenance release firmware for any of their player products.  We only get bugfixes when there’s a whole new build with new features.

So, despite the fact that (to my knowledge) WD would be compiling in the new patched Samba to a future release, there’s no answer as to when that will be released.  It could be next week, or it could be a year from now.

WD certainly has never pre-announced firmware releases.

Nobody, either us users, or WD themselves, can tell you how long you’ll be waiting… it’s up to you whether you choose to be patient (and/or install Samba yourself in the interim), or move to another brand of Media Player.

If there ever were to be an official WD statment it will be limited to “this should be fixed in the next release” with no clue as to when that will be, so it won’t really answer your question.

15

No sweat, it’s the internet.

I didn’t know WD doesn’t (really) participate in here.

I’m patient, but I was curious if they had spoken about it.

In the meantime, it’s not the end of the world to load things onto a portable hard drive and plug it in to the WDTV.