The best replacement for samba is nfs.

The best alternatives to samba are rated as following:
★★★★★  nfs
★★★  ftp
★★  salsa
★★  cifs
★★  samba4
★★  smb
★  gazelle
★  afp
★  rumba
★  bossa nova
★  nfs speed
★  spezial
  ssh
  samba 4
  nfs faster
  samoa
  nfs performance
  mambo
  sshfs
  freenas
  samba3x
  active directory
  upnp
  ovivo
  dlna
  cups
  cha cha
  tango
  netatalk
  ldap
  samba4 ubuntu
  sftp

Your alternative for samba is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about samba, one probably shouldn't forget about ldap.

Other search terms related to samba and their ratings are:
★★★★★ ldap
★★★ active directory
★★ winbind
★★ netbios
★★ cups
★ webmin
★ openldap
★ roaming profiles
You have in mind a companion for samba and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of samba in all years. Click on graph for more.
samba
nfs
ftp