Hello everyone,

Im looking for your thoughts on OpenLdap or Linux Directory Services.

How hard to implement? How hard is the learning curve? The advantages? ROI (regarding time)?

I ask these questions as honestly i am about a 3 out of 10 in linux, however a 8 out of 10 in MS related server products.

I have succesfully installed a PostFix server running on Debain, configured a small scale SmoothWall to use australian telstra cable, and have played with and using at the moment in production fileservers on debian. So im fairly familiar with the concepts of linux-ness, and very familar with networking and server side technolgies.

My question stems from me today stumbling over KuBuntu, this intersted me greatly as i work for a educational institution and i have a lab inparticular (30 approx) full of computers struggling to run Win XP and programs (including costs). And i thought installing a Linux-Kubuntu lab amongst our MS infrastrucutre, this would be great but now i need to consider things like single sign on, authenticated and logged internet access, sharing files with MS File server, GPO, quotas.

Should i bother to try and implement this? I assume i could run a parralell Directory service to existing AD to serve this one lab in particular?

Or is forcing kubuntu to authenticate to my AD infrastrcutre a better course of action?

Sorry for the length - and thats alot for the time of reading this. Please let me know your thoughts, whether positive or negative. Thank you.

IMHO, it pays up in the end. LDAP apart from providing central authentication, can also provide with certain control over the pc's in your network. you basically, can exercise control over terms like security, manageablity and such. The advantages outweigh the time spent on the process. How hard to implement? How hard is the learning curve?, it depends on your aptitude and the mind you put in. ROI? Is it Return Of Investment? What Investment? It's all opensource if you get what i mean.

R.O.I of time invested - IE 3 months of burning my eye lashes to get new desktop wallpapers hahaha. Sorry for my poor example but i think you get the jist.

But in regard to running a paralell LDAP system to MS ActiveDirectory, smart idea? Worth the trouble to have 30 computers achieve single sign in?

Thanks for the qucik reply! Also wouldnt happen to be BillProzac?