Is there a similar Technology like Active Directory in Linux to Form a Domain
 

Hi,

I am searching for a technology which is similar to Microsoft Active Directory to implement in Linux LANs. Can anyone guide me in this regard?

Thanks

Amitha

There is Samba + LDAP(the notorious and very popular pair)
- Samba provides domain control (PDC)
- Ldap provides a directory service (just like AD)
http://edin.no-ip.com/content/ldap-s...an-lenny-howto
http://www.openldap.org/doc/admin24/index.html
http://www.linuxhomenetworking.com/w...DAP_and_RADIUS

You can still use your MS Active Directory with Linux computers:
http://www.likewise.com/products/lik...open/index.php

Using Linux AS an Active Directory server...
 

I have seen a lot of people post how to get Active Directory users onto Linux. I have seen even more - including a post on Microsoft's own forums about making Active Directory the default authenticating LDAP server for a mixed network and using Linux as a client. Nobody seems to want to tell how to implement Active Directory as a service on Linux. Well, maybe I should say "nobody else". That's right. In my spare time, I am working on doing just that. I want to use OpenLDAP as a source of authentication in my mixed network. The drawback is that I have to configure it to fool Windows into thinking it is an Active Directory server. When you add in Samba, and WINS, you have all of the things necessary for Windows to mistake your Linux box as a Windows server, without using that crummy file system/GUI package put out by an undisclosed Redmond, WA, USA-based company. Keep an eye out for the threads on Active Directory implementation and WINS implementation after that. (I may even go so far as including one on WINE and MONO, making "OpenWindows" more of a reality. Keep me happy with caffeine and protein bars!)

Samba 4 will be able to act as a AD server.. just fyi..

http://www.samba.org/samba/news/arti...let_thesis.pdf
http://wiki.samba.org/index.php/Samba4
http://wiki.samba.org/index.php/Samba4/HOWTO

I found 389 Directory Server (formerly "Fedora Directory Server") to be a great substitute. Coming from an AD background, it gave me the most features and granularity of environmental control over any other I tried. Not to say I have been looking for long, but I did look hard. I set out to replace Windows AD, and 389 DS worked the best.

http://directory.fedoraproject.org/

On the other side of the coin, Samba is a lot less complicated. I have heard the same rumors that Farslayer did, and I would look forward to that.

not rumors.. you can download and run thew samba 4 code now.. and the links I provided are for the docs..

How full featured it is though.. I couldn't say.