The following smb.conf file shows a sample configuration needed to implement an Active Directory domain member server. In this example, Samba authenticates users for services being run locally but is also a client of the Active Directory. Ensure that your kerberos realm parameter is shown in all caps (for example realm = EXAMPLE.COM). Since Windows 2000/2003 requires Kerberos for Active Directory authentication, the realm directive is required. If Active Directory and Kerberos are running on different servers, the password server directive may be required to help the distinction.

[global] 
realm = EXAMPLE.COM 
security = ADS 
encrypt passwords = yes 
# Optional. Use only if Samba cannot determine the Kerberos server automatically. 
password server = kerberos.example.com

In order to join a member server to an Active Directory domain, the following steps must be completed:

To create the machine account and join the Windows 2000/2003 Active Directory, Kerberos must first be initialized for the member server wishing to join the Active Directory domain. To create an administrative Kerberos ticket, type the following command as root on the member server:

kinit administrator@EXAMPLE.COM

The kinit command is a Kerberos initialization script that references the Active Directory administrator account and Kerberos realm. Since Active Directory requires Kerberos tickets, kinit obtains and caches a Kerberos ticket-granting ticket for client/server authentication. For more information on Kerberos, the /etc/krb5.conf file, and the kinit command, refer to Section 43.6, “Kerberos”.

To join an Active Directory server (windows1.example.com), type the following command as root on the member server:

net ads join -S windows1.example.com -U administrator%password

Since the machine windows1 was automatically found in the corresponding Kerberos realm (the kinit command succeeded), the net command connects to the Active Directory server using its required administrator account and password. This creates the appropriate machine account on the Active Directory and grants permissions to the Samba domain member server to join the domain.