Purpose: Students should be able to use Windows Software in on all terminals (Ncomputing) while storing their data on Linux.

We are trying to create users in Windows AD to automatically redirect their their configuration and home directory on Linux automatically so that logically they login on Windows Server, use MS Office as part of their school curriculum, but store their identities and data on Linux.

What we have done:
We have installed Windows Server 2012 in VirtualBox on IBM x3100 M4 2582 (that is another issue as Windows Guest doesn't pick up correct Matrox driver & falls back on Microsoft generic one, but that's not the urgent problem) with Virtualbox VM shared folder as /home/winusers/

What we want to do is that whenever we create users in Windows Server AD, eg. user1, it should create user identification files on CentOS host OS AND assign it access to /home/winusers/user1 folder.

At the moment we are able to login user on Windows AD and have corresponding user created on Linux, but unable to automatically login them on Linux the 1st time. We have to manually create /home/winusers/username1 on Linux the 1st time. Next time they login into AD, they get access to /home/winusers/username1 automatically.

Any other methods of doing this?

If I have posted this incorrectly on the wrong group, accept my apologies, this is my 1st post to the group and I have been learning Linux (I guess everyone keeps learning Linux as there is so much more to learn with the vast and depth of Linux capabilities).

Warm Regards

Mangesh

Hello Mangeshs,

Welcome to the forum! If i understand correct, you want when someone creates a user at the Windows Server, automatically to copy this user at your Linux server, right? What is the project?

You probably want to use SAMBA(4) to manage AD. This way, student logins are authenticated by SAMBA; they can use Office from the Windows server, and everything else on the Linux servers.

Another alternative is to forego Office entirely and use Libre Office on Linux.

Thanks for your quick replies.

LeoPap: That is what I want; user files and storage should be stored in Linux SAMBA server. It should be like creating an active directory user with default user configuration files (I believe under c:\users\USERNAME currently) and default home folder on Linux Box eg. \\LINUXBOX\HOME\USERNAME when I create AD user. Project is making a school computer lab where we need students to login and use Windows environment to learn MS Office and related software on Windows environment. We use VirtualBox to make high availability VM.

notKlaatu: I tried installing SAMBA 4 on my current configuration, failed. My current default setup: CentOS 6.5, SAMBA 3.x.

Quick help appreciated.