On 9 March 2017 at 22:17, Jose Oliveira via Peterboro <peterboro@mailman.lug.org.uk> wrote: > > Have a look at NethServer 7... That's a spin-off of old e-smith server...
I was going to suggest something similar! The long gone e-smith server distribution was based around RedHat and basically put a perl-based web-interface around the configuration of the OS to manage things like Samba file servers etc. e-smith became smeserver and is now called something funky (Koozali). At some point Nethserver span off from it. Both are now based on CentOS. I used to use e-smith (we're talking over 10 years ago), and haven't used the newer iterations properly although I still follow a couple of the old mailing lists. Koozali I have to say is struggling with a limited number of developers which is a massive shame. I think Nethserver has corporate backing; I've never installed it (I don't really have a need for it these days - I don't run Windows domains either). I'm sure there are other distros, and if you want to get your hands dirty all they are doing is wrapping around Samba/OpenLDAP/etc (as far as AD stuff is concerned) so you can just play with Samba on your distro of choice if you want. Certainly it used to be possible to completely replace a Windows domain controller (I'm going back far enough that AD wasn't around) with a Linux box and nobody would know any different at the end user side of things; as far as I know that's still possible at least for many or most deployments. Regarding the hosting company in March (Positive Internet), I doubt they have much use for Active Directory for managing things but they're represented on this list so can correct me! It is very much a Windows spin on things. At it's core, as I understand it, AD is a directory server which communicates using LDAP, and there are plenty of open alternatives that do this too. But the extent to which they look and feel like Windows will of-course vary. (I would be interested to know if phrases like LDAP even got a mention in your server 2016 course?) Basically: If what you want is Active Directory then I think you may find you are stuck with Microsoft, in much the same was as you are if you want Excel. On the other hand, if what you want is a directory server, file server, name server, etc (or for that matter a spreadsheet) then Microsoft's offerings are just one amongst many which all offer different benefits and drawbacks at different prices. The Linux options will likely be very different to configure from the Windows offerings; once set up they'll probably be more secure and (in my experience) more reliable too, but it will come as a big culture shock if all you know is how to configure things from a Windows server viewpoint! Mark -- Mark Rogers // More Solutions Ltd (Peterborough Office) // 0844 251 1450 Registered in England (0456 0902) 21 Drakes Mews, Milton Keynes, MK8 0ER _______________________________________________ Peterboro mailing list Peterboro@mailman.lug.org.uk https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/peterboro
