[Author Prev][Author Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Author Index][Thread Index]

Re: [school-discuss] Active Directory support in linux distributions



There are no other platforms that integrate with deep level things like group policy. Apple comes close on the being able to apply some GPO's and access to home folders and guid mapping, and there are other platforms that do some of theÂmanageabilityÂof Active Directory, but none that integrate very cleanly. From what I've seen its less about manageability and more about configuration management. On the surface those sound similar, but they are actually quite different in practice.

I think the only way to get to aÂheterogeneousÂnetwork is to implement some sort of LDAP between two or more different directory structures. When you say "supported", that pretty much limits you to enterprise deployments with vendors like Red Hat and IBM, but it doesn't come cheap. The whole idea behind support in the open source community is that its supported by the community.



On Tue, May 25, 2010 at 1:30 PM, Matthew W. Ross <mross@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hey List,

I am interested in finding out if there are new distributions that support connecting to an Active Directory natively.

Let me be clear: I am looking for a supported distribution that states in the documentation that it is able, and includes documentation on how, to connect to an Active Directory domain, including the option to mount the AD supplied home directory automatically on AD login.

I'm not interested in a howto or a pam scripting guide. I'm looking for somebody who actually supports this configuration.

This is a basic requirement for our environment at our school. Without this (seemingly rudimentary) feature, I can't offer Linux as an option for our district. I would love to do so, but if it isn't something we as a technology department can support (and I'm the only linux guy here), then we won't use it.

I've recently played with Ubuntu 10.04 at home, but didn't see anything on it about attaching it to an Active Directory. I also notice that Fedora 13 came out today, and RedHat has had the authentication baked into the distro for some time... but without the Home Directory being supported. Perhaps someone on this list can tell me that the Home Folder is (or is not) supported in recent Fedora releases? What about other distributions? I have not had much time to experiment. Also, are there programs (such as Likewise) that support the Active Directory with Home Folders?

Thanks in advance for any responses.


--Matt Ross
Ephrata School District