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First Alpha of Public Sector Linux Deployment System
New submitter mathiasfriman writes: SverigeLinux (SwedenLinux in Swedish) is a project financed by the Swedish Internet Fund that is developing a Linux deployment system for the public sector. It is based on DebianLAN and has just released its first public early alpha version. This 7 minute video shows how you can deploy up to 100 workstations with minimal Linux knowledge in under an hour, complete with DHCP, DNS and user data in LDAP, logins using Kerberos and centralized storage. The project has a home on GitHub and is looking for testers and developers. Don't worry, no Björgen Kjörgen; it's all in English.
First, this is not an imaging system, it's an install system which installs mainly Debian based distributions, based on Fully Automatic Installation (fai-project.org). FAI in turn is possible to use with multi-distribution capabilities to install CentOS, Scientific Linux and a few more. As a final twist, this project will also incorporate the possibility to install FOG servers but it is not our primary focus right now.
I don't see how it can be called bloated, beyond the usual "ZOMG WINDOWS USES XXXXMB OF RAM LOLZZ" stuff.
AD isn't just LDAP, it's a central store for everything management. Yes it holds your authentication details, but it also holds settings for (assuming you use the MS products) DHCP, DNS, Mail, etc. Want a new DC to avoid SPOF? Install Windows, install the role, promote. All the settings are copied down automatically and you're redundant. You've also got the concept of sites, which certain domain controllers handle, so workstations know where to find their local DC. Also, subdomains, so you can hand off sections of the environment to other people - think company divisions (dev.corp.net) or even countries (us.corp.net). It's all GUI and PowerShell controllable these days too.
As for replication failures, yes they happen, as it will with anything that depends on replication. Disagree with them being common though - I've seen one in just over 15 years. We deleted the VM, made a new one on a new name, ran a clean up tool and carried on.
I am a viral sig. Please copy me and help me spread. Thank you.
So, how's this SverigeLinux thing different from upstream FAI? Sounds like Debian plus some default configs. I've used FAI with both Debian and Ubuntu for many years (actually at a Swedish government institution) and your web site doesn't really explain what you're doing and how it improves what's already there.
The FAI in SverigeLinux is the same as the FAI in Wheezy, what we've added is the config directory which installs OpenLDAP, Kerberos, centralized home directories mounted via NFS4 over kerberos, FusionDirectory for LDAP management of user-, DNS- and DHCP-settings, Icinga and Munin for monitoring, Roundcube for webmail, OwnCloud for cloud storage, dirvish for backup and some more stuff. The server can also replicate itself so that you can install an exact copy of the mainserver. :)
The whole idea is that you won't need to spend a couple of months implementing the system with all these components, testing the setup and running into a myriad of problems before getting it right. It's just there from the beginning, tailored with your own domain name and your own IP-series if you so please. Think of it as the dcpromo of the Linux world, sort of. Please, feel more than free to contact me, if you're a long time FAI user we could definitely use your skills.