anything like domain login for Ubuntu?

[Sachin Divekar]

On February 15, 2014 10:40:37 PM GMT+05:30, Avi Greenbury <lists at avi.co> wrote:
>Karl Auer wrote:
>
>> Is there anything like Microsoft's domain login system available for
>> Ubuntu?
>> 
>> That is,  system whereby a person can log in from any PC in the
>> enterprise, authenticate against a central database of users, and
>then
>> see and work with his/her own desktop, with all user data being
>stored
>> on a central server?
>
>Sort-of. LDAP/Kerberos and SMB/CIFS is basically how MS do that bit of
>AD and, given time spent making them work together I hear you can make
>a workable central-sign on directory service.
>
>> The fourth part would be something to replace group policies.
>
>I've seen it posited that an NFS-mounted /usr/ and /etc/ and suchlike
>can go some way towards some of the machine-based group-policy
>features.
>
>> The aim is to have a system whereby a simple, standard install can be
>> done on a new PC, and old PCs can be replaced with that simple
>> install, without having to re-create any particular user's
>> environment.
>
>I gather that the more common solution to that problem is some sort of
>thin-client system like LTSP. 
>
>
>I've never gone further than to look at the feasibility of the above
>and decide that there isn't really any, though.

We have implemented similar solution at one of our client sites on around 800 Ubuntu desktops. For authentication we are using LDAP setup on CentOS. On Ubuntu we have used pam-ldap to authenticate against enterprise LDAP directory. For home directory access we are simply using NFS mounts on Ubuntu from fstab, by mounting /home from NFS share exported from file server, a CentOS machine. The setup is working without any problem for more than a year now.

Regards
Sachin Divekar