Implementing CIFS: The Common Internet File System

7.5 The Awful Truth

The awful truth is that an NBT implementation must accommodate and often comply with the errors, kludges, omissions, and fumbles of the past. The installed base is simply too big to try and get it right. Not to worry. You now have enough information to build a working NBT implementation. Writing an NBNS and NBDD server should also be within reach, and you can pull code from some of the many Open Source projects that are out there (as long as you respect the licenses). We have covered all of the major pitfalls, and NBT is a resilient little system. Making it work is a lot easier than getting it right.