Newbie domain questions
 

Hi All

I am a windows system admin and would like to get in to being a Linux admin. I have built a few server and had a play, and am really starting to like it.

Can anyone give me info or point me to a good place to learn about how domains or equivalent work. Ie how do you add linux machines to a domain (if they work like this) how users log in to pc’s with there account on the server and how you share files on the server (not sure if you would use samba here or something else)

Many thanks

Glenn

Outside of getting on with Windows, there is no domain concept. It's far simpler than all that nonsense. You can use a Kerberos realm (as with AD) but this is purely for KRB work, and not what you're referring to. There are also projects like FreeIPA which strive to replicate much more of AD, but they are uncommon and really unnecessary. You can join a Linux machine to a windows domain using Samba, or indeed run a Samba domain controller instead of the real AD box, but there's precious little benefit compared to... well... not.

If you're sharing files between Linux systems, you'd generally use NFS, or a userland solution like sshfs.

If you want centralized authentication, I personally recommend openldap services, or even authenticating with LDAP to AD servers.

Thanks for the reply Chris

I am not to worried about windows machines at this time. Just trying to get my head around how a Linux network is as stuck in windows mode. As I would like to change from windows admin to Linux I have found this a difficult area to try and get any information on to try and learn before 1 tries to even start to look for a job as an admin.

Thanks

Glenn

pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease don't mix up a network with a bunch of services that run across a network. Drives me F"£$%^&*ing mad. There's no such thing as a "linux network", unless you build routers out of linux boxes ;-) I imagine you're not finding much information as what you're trying to find out about doesn't exist in the first place.

My applogies.

This is very not an answer to any question that you have asked, but might help you all the same. I would recommend either Linuxhomenetworking or the Linux Quick Fix Handbook - essentially, these are the same materials (...but the web site may have had some corrections made, post publishing, and so may be a bit more up to date...) and the book is, or was, available as 'dead-tree-ware' and as a free download, in places.

Now this is heavily project focussed, in the 'Let's build a web server, what do we have to do, and what do we have to learn, in order to get there' kind of sense; I quite like this, but if you only want to look up one particular thing, it might mean that you have to leap into the middle of some subject, and you may or may not find that a problem.

If you don't like that, there are masses of tutorials around the 'net on almost anything related; a slightly more compact one is at Yolinux which you might like (I don't think that it is as well written as the the first, but YMMV).

Anyway, these are 'general linux networking tuts', rather than a direct answer, but my guess is that if you go through a good general tut in detail, you'll be better placed. Apologies if I have got this wrong.

Many thanks for that salasi. I will go and take a good look as sure it will help me out.

Glenn