Ubuntu – Active Directory vs OpenLDAP

active-directoryopenldapsmall-businessUbuntu

This is for a small company (12 developers) who haven't implemented any centralized user database – they've grown organically and just created accounts on computers as they needed.

From a management point of view, its a nightmare – 10 computers all with different user accounts. If a user is added to one computer, they manually need to be added on all the others(that they need to access). This is far from ideal. Moving forward and growing the business will mean exponentially more work as more computers/users are added/hired.

I know that some kind of centralized user management is sorely needed. However, I'm debating between Active Directory and OpenLDAP. Two current servers function as simple backup and file-sharing servers, both running Ubuntu 8.04LTS. The computers are a mix of Windows XP and Ubuntu 9.04.

I don't have experience with Active Directory (or really OpenLDAP for that matter, but I'm comfortable with Linux), but if one solution outweighs the other then its warranted that I learn that.

Upfront cost isn't really an issue, TCO is. If Windows (SBS I'm assuming?) will save me enough time to make up for the increased upfront cost, then I think I should go with that solution.

For my needs, what solution should I be looking at implementing?

edit: Email is hosted off-site, so Exchange isn't necessary.

Best Answer

Stick with the open-source, if I'm reading your question correctly:

  • You don't care about Exchange
  • You don't have a huge need for minute control of XP settings - I love group policy primarily to save the admin/sales staff from themselves, the developers mostly need me to stay out of their hair
  • You're more comfortable with *nix than windows

AD is great at managing windows to a fine degree, but if you don't need that, you're buying yourself a learning curve that won't likely bring a great deal of benefit.

2 caveats

  • If you've got the time/interest to push yourself more on the MS side of things, this is a good way to provide that.
  • WSUS is a good way to control workstation/server patches. If you can't just flip the "automatic" switch on all machines, this might push the balance over to SBS (if SBS does WSUS?)
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