Slashdot Mirror
Active Directory Comes To Linux With Samba 4
Da Massive writes in with another possible answer to a recent Ask Slashdot about FOSS replacements for Microsoft AD server. "Enterprise networks now have an alternative choice to Microsoft Active Directory (AD) servers, with the open source Samba project aiming for feature parity with the forthcoming release of version 4, according to Canberra-based Samba developer Andrew Bartlett. Speaking at this year's linux.conf.au Linux and open source conference in Hobart, Bartlett said Samba 4 is aiming to be a replacement for AD by providing a free software implementation of Microsoft's custom protocols. Because AD is 'far more than LDAP and Kerberos,' Bartlett said, Samba 4 is not only about developing with Microsoft's customization of those protocols, it is also about moving the project beyond just providing an NT 4 compatible domain manager."
One thing I find it interesting in the article is that Microsoft been working with Samba developers to provide them the inner workings of AD. Hell, even Samba developers discovered a bug about random passwords in AD and told Microsoft about it.
AD in it's present form is still closed source project so I find it interesting Microsoft team is willing to provide them some of the secrets knowing that eventually it'll take away some of their profits like they'll miss it anyway.
So what exactly the direction is Microsoft taking?