Linux with Windows Active Directory is possible

Making Windows and Linux work together has never been easy, especially in the business environment where Active Directory is used. Canonical, the company that develops Ubuntu, has published a whitepaper in which it explains how to integrate Ubuntu and Active Directory.

Ubuntu Linux and Active Directory: A possible coexistence

Canonical writes in its whitepaper that ” Powerbroker Identity Service Open (PBIS Open) is a tool whose purpose is precisely to simplify the integration of non-Microsoft operating systems into an existing Active Directory architecture. PBIS Open automates many settings that before they required manual configuration that took time and was prone to errors, so that the integration of Ubuntu with Active Directory quickly and without problems since it no longer makes it necessary to grope. ”

This introduction makes it clear how many steps forward have been made in the integration between Linux systems and Active Directory, although it is not all roses: as it is written by Canonical, ” it is important to understand that Active Directory was never intended as a cross-platform directory ” integration with third-party systems remains difficult.

Not simple does not mean impossible and, indeed, this whitepaper shows how it is possible to integrate the two worlds with more than satisfactory results for basic operations (and not only).

PBIS Open is the open source and free version of Open-Source Active Directory Bridging, the most complete (but paid) version of the software developed by BeyondTrust.

What was until recently an enterprise of not indifferent proportions is now a problem that can be solved in a relatively simple way? And it is not a trivial problem: companies increasingly have to integrate different systems, born without the possibility of being integrated. Finding the squaring of the circle is not impossible in this context, although there are currently limits that prevent a perfect integration that provides all the functionality.

Assessing pros and cons of the solution proposed by Canonical is up to system administrators based on the specific situation. As the same whitepaper points out, there are also alternatives: SSSD, winbind, PowerBroker Identity Service Enterprise and NSS plus PAM configured for LDAP and Kerberos. Again, each situation requires different solutions that need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Perfect integration is not yet available, but the quality of the integrations and their ease of configuration are increasing significantly over time. With Microsoft’s increasing collaboration in the development of open solutions, it is possible that in the future also Active Directory will be made more open and compatible with other platforms, making life easier (and reducing costs) for thousands of companies.

You can read the whitepaper at this address, upon registration.

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