Setting up a linux domain server for a windows network....

[theEclipse]

I manage a small windows network (~15 computers) with a tiny budget. I would like to get the computers to login to and be members of a domain so that adding a user is not a grueling monotonous task. But with our tiny budget any windows server is beyond out of the question even without CALs.

I figure that there has to be a way to setup a linux server to authenticate users on windows machines but I have no idea where to start looking. Is it even called a domain controller in the linux world?

Can somebody point me in the right direction? Any tips would also be appreciated...

Thanks



Robert Carpenter
Remember....eternity is much longer than this ~80 years we will spend roaming this earth.
ô¿ô

http://www.robertcarpenter.net

 

[chipperMDW]

As far as I know, no comaptible free alternative to Active Directory in Windows Server 2000+ is available yet. Samba 4 (open source) aims to support it, but they're still working on it. Samba 3 does support NT-style Windows networks, which might or might not be sufficient for your purposes.

As open source alernatives, you might check out Apache's and Fedora's directory services.

Finally, Novell's eDirectory is a commercial alternative with a reasonable price. I've heard good things about it.

 

[thedaver]

You may also want to investigate a combination of samba and LDAP. LDAP is a complex BUT FREE solution to common signon, resources/domains, and central administration.

LDAP can help you if you have modest needs.

D.E.R. Management - IT Project Management Consulting

http://www.dermanagement.com/

 

[jkupski]

NT style domains SHOULD be sufficient for your needs if all you are after is centralized user management. As thedaver noted, you probably want to implement LDAP at the same time, since this will be much more powerful than simply adding users to a passwd file, and will integrate nicely with any other devices you have (copiers, network scanners, etc.)

One note: obviously if you go this route, you won't get the goodies that a windows domain offers (group policy, managed software deployments, etc.) One thing you might want to look at if you desire these features is Microsoft Small Business Server--it will cost less than Windows Server, and bring some other features to the table (Exchange being the most notable.) If you have any growth on the horizon, this may be a good move for you.

Of course, this only makes sense if you're already a Microsoft shop and have no intention of changing this.

 

[Kozusnik]

Now that you mention e-mail. I'll chime in. I work for a mid-sized hospital. We were using Exchange for 400+ users (2000 in the organization). I set up Zimbra on Linux and created accounts for everyone. Only cost was that of the server. We're now moving people from Exchange.

There's usually a good open source alternative. I'll say Zimbra is very good. If you can get a server for Zimbra, you could run OpenLDAP from there.

Mark

 

[TonyGroves]

Let's not get carried away; we're only talking about 15 users here. Standard Samba in domain mode would be perfectly adequate for that, and maintaining user accounts would be child's play. No need for LDAP there.

 

[macd68]

With 'only' samba you have the requirement to manually add users and maintain and synchronize their passwords to some degree. LDAP is a great choice for even a small shop.