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Searching for a Directory Service Solution?
kumulan wonders: "I've got the responsibility to set up directory services as well as a messaging/groupware system for my organization of app. 100 employees spread out over three locations. We are a startup that is merging three existing smaller companies and, given the state of existing IS infrastructure at each of these locations, the decision has already been made that we are better off starting from scratch. It would be great to hear from Slashdot readers concerning which option is 'better' and why."
"For me, the choices are stark and clear:
- MS Exchange/Active Directory
- A cobbled-together solution based as much as possible on OSS (as no direct equivalent exists).
- Samba/OpenLDAP/Kerberos
- Bynari Insight Server for messaging/groupware.
- Nitrobit Group Policy for, you guessed it, group policy management.
What ever happened to Novell? I used that at the college I attended - web apps, email, directory, rempote access, etc. Is this no longer a valid option, or was it just forgotten on the above list?
There's also Novell's NDS... That could be your third option perhaps...
Use Fedora Directory Server or Red Hat Directory server. It is derived from the acclaimed Netscape Directory Server. It is easy to set up, scalable and *just works*. For groupware just use phpGroupware or something. If all you need is mail access, I recommend Roundcube for the web access, it uses Ajax to give a nice user experience akin to Yahoo or Gmail. Keep an eye on the Hula Project too, it looks like when a release it made it will be real nice.
Regards,
Steve
Not really--I myself and am MCSE and run my own consulting company where the majority of my clients run Active Directory. I'm quite aware of the costs. MS includes a license for Outlook when you buy a CAL for Exchange, so that extra expense is negated. OpenOffice also might make a viable office suite for this person, but the question was about directory services. Terminal Services is a non-issue in the same regard.
And it's not as cheap and easy to get quality techies as you might think. Putting your existing staff through a boot camp is only the tip of the iceberg expense-wise, and it's a very inefficent solution.
Entrepreneur : (noun), French for "unemployed"
Just be sure to include your long term costs when you are evaluating. you should calculate the costs of integration and upgrades too. MS products don't work well with other companies products and will inevitably cost you hundreds of man hours if you are ever presented with the problem of integrating non standard MS software with software from other vendors.
As far as admins go studies have shown that unix admins on average maintain more servers per admin then windows admins. You may be able to do with one unix admin as opposed to two windows admins.
windows machines as a rule run less services per machine then unix machines do. This means more servers, which means, more servers to patch, keep up to date, backup, and admin.
Finally the perenial problem of backups and bare metal recovery. This is trivial in unix but costs thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars for windows.
There is a lot to think about. Just saying I have used windows XP before so i can maintain a active directory/exchange environment is plain old stupid.
evil is as evil does
Novell with NDS does all that AD does, and a lot more. It is an incredibly well designed directory server, and it existed before AD. The big reason to go with AD is because of group policy; I don't know if NDS has an equivalent to it.
It might still be that W2k3 is the right tool, but please, have your information straight!
Cost is definitely a major factor here.
While going the W2K3 route would be easy and very functional, one has to take into account the cost of the eventual [forced] upgrades. A company of 100 folks probably isn't turning a wild profit in terms of real money, and what money there is will undoubtedly get funneled into R&D or advertising or SomethingOtherThanITInfrastructure. This is where the long-term cost savings on a "cobbled" solution will pay off handsomely.
The decision is best made right now.
I have something in common with Stephen Hawking...
We implemented Apple Open Directory, serving ~400 users, using four Xserves and and two Xserve RAID's. We're using Apple's mail services, file, web, web log, and VPN service.
So far, things have gone better than I expected. We are authenticating Mac, Windows and Linux PC's, all of which can access the same home directory. The Open Directory master server also acts as the Windows PDC and serves up roaming profiles for Win XP clients.
What I've been hounding my Apple rep about is the lack of a real group callaboration suite. The pieces are there; iCal, Address Book, Jabber, Cyrus/Postfix. They need to be brought together in an Exchange/GroupWise sort of fashion. We are still using Steltor Corporate Time (now Oracle Collaboration Suite) for calendaring, task lists, and shared contact lists. I'm watching the Hula project closely. Rumor has it Apple is shopping around for a comprehensive group collaboration system. Hula might be it! Zee dork
I'm afraid I can't help answer the initial question, but I have to caution you strongly regarding all of the suggestions for Novell products.
I live the Novell dream everyday, and "cobbled together" would be a generous description of their products and services. This is a company with a time honored tradition of rendering promising technologies useless. They handed most of the market to MS on a silver platter.
Before you consider Novell too seriously, look through the forums at forums.novell.com, be sure ask about your support options , and try to get a feel for the staffing and training required for a network of your size and scope.
Stick with your inital instincts, just remeber that very few Novell products are actually Open Source.