[kwlug-disc] Linux replacement for Windows Domain Server

[unsolicited]

Bob Jonkman wrote, On 11/24/2009 10:50 PM:
> What would be the Linux replacement for a Windows Domain Controller?
> 
> Is there a Debian package for this?

Sorry, Bob, your question is too vague.

What part of a Windows Domain Controller are you looking to replace?

(And, in this thread, I'd wait for John to chip in before considering 
anything authoritative.)

Apologies if stuff below is too basic or already well known to you - 
don't mean to insult your keen technical intellect here. (-:

Active Directory is an MS proprietary form of LDAP. So, in one sense, 
the answer to your question is OpenLDAP.

Another take on your question, as answered elsewhere in this thread, 
is file sharing. In which case an answer might be Samba. Samba will do 
printer sharing too. But printer sharing begs the question, why not 
leave the printers on windows with the ability to use native windows 
print drivers, and share the printers from there.

- for that matter, if you have less than 10 XP or better workstations, 
you don't need an MS server at all. You could share each attach point 
directly. (XP has a limit of 10 connections for shared things.)

The single most important detail to communicate is: Are you using MS 
Exchange? If Exchange is not in the picture at all, you're gold. 
Solutions are out there. If Exchange is in the picture but you have no 
other use for Active Directory, there's quite a bit of info. out there 
about Linux / Exchange interaction and cooperation. (Again, John could 
give you some direction and magic search terms.)

Another take on your question could be "I'm moving all my users to 
Linux, what do I use for central authentication?", the answer to which 
is, I believe, PAM.

I'm going to guess you have some number of Windows workstations out 
there, no Linux, and are trying to avoid having to implement a windows 
server by implementing a Linux equivalent. Knowing your situation, 
especially the presence or lack of Exchange, and what functionality 
your Windows workstations are currently getting and you would like to 
add to, would let the list give you better answers.

There's a drinking from a fire hose level of information out there on 
Windows / Linux interaction. So I can appreciate why you ask the list 
so you can winnow down the material you have to chew through.