What is avahi? Is it neccessary? Why is it started or installed? If it isn't neccessary, how do I get rid of it?

avahi is way for devices on a local network to find each other...

I think of it as the Open Standard version of Bonjour.

 

{Are you a Mac user? 

Its built-in to the Mac OS, and is the reason that an unRAID server shows up twice in Finder windows.

 

'Twice' because its there once as a SAMBA server, and once as a 'device' that's been connected.

If you look really closely, you'll see that they are subtly  different..in particular, what I notice are that the 'labels' work in one, and not the other.

To my knowledge there's no way to remove the duplicate in the finder list of Shared Devices.}

 

If you're worried about the 'cosmetics' of having two entries in the Finder Sidebar, look in 'Finder Preferences' and untic the box for Shared 'Bonjour computers'.

(this is true for Maverick...I can't recall if it was present on earlier versions)

 

 

Is it a standard part of untaid? If not how does it get enabled and how do I get rid of it?

Is it a standard part of untaid?

yes, it is standard.

Is it a standard part of untaid?

yes, it is standard.

 

Does it always get started by default? When was this introduced? I don't see it getting started in 5.0beta12a. Can this have an impact on samba performance?

My understanding is that avahi is just a signalling system...a way for devices to find each other.

The devices broadcast a packet to the local network which indicates they are online and available...that's all.

I've never heard of a 'conflict' with SMB.

avahi is builtin to Mac OS X, and is necessary for Timemachine to find its storage on unRAID.

 

Seeing it in the finder can be annoying, but avahi is (IMHO) harmless, takes miniscule bandwidth and almost no processor cycles.

If you're worried about the 'cosmetics' of having two entries in the Finder Sidebar, look in 'Finder Preferences' and untic the box for Shared 'Bonjour computers'.