OS X as a Primary Domain Controller

[gortonsfi]

Does anyone have any experience setting up OS X machines to be Domain Controllers on a mixed network? But not with OS X server... Unless you've got a spare license laying about that you'd like to give me? Right...what I thought. ;) So back to regular OS X Panther. I'd rather not have to use my evaluation copy of WINDOWS Server 2003.

Thanks,

Jeff

[yellow]

I don't think you can set up OS X Client to be an authentication source for other computers. That functionaility just isn't there. Otherwise no one would buy OS X Server.

[gortonsfi]

X is unix, so it should be possible, even if there's no gui app for it like in server.

[yellow]

Technically, darwin is 'unix-like', not true UNIX, but anyway..

OS X is not like Linux or Solaris or other unix-like OS'. They are the OS with whatever Window Manager you want on top (Open Windows, KDE, Gnome, whatever). OS X is specifically designed and packaged with the Aqua interface and has unix-like darwin lurking at it's core. The OS X client software has limitations built-in that make it impossible for it to act as an authenticator. If it were anything otherwise, people would never buy OS X Server and Apple would have a huge security hole on their hands. But that's not the case at all. In order to make it work, you would have to hack and recompile the kernel of OS X client. Good luck with that.

Your best bet is to try using OS X Server or early versions of Rhapsody.

[kc0arf]

Hello,

I am really curious what Samba running on OS X would do in terms of being a Domain controller. Unfortunately, I do not have spare OS X hardware to try it out with.

I do like Samba on Linux though... :)

Christian

[yellow]

Nothing at all.. Samba is a UNIX implementation of the "Server Message Block" protocol that Windows boxes use to transfer data from point A to point B. It cannot be used for login authentication..

[kc0arf]

Hello,

I was under the impression it could handle authentications, as I thought it could mimic a domain controller. I'll have to look into that too! Right now, my samba accounts on Linux are matched accounts with the Windoze domain, and matched passwords.

Christian

[yellow]

I was under the impression it could handle authentications, as I thought it could mimic a domain controller.

I don't think so. Check out: man samba

[kc0arf]

Hello,

You may look here:

http://us2.samba.org/samba/docs/man/Samba-HOWTO-Collection/samba-pdc.html#domain-example

Christian

[yellow]

Well I'll be..

Great catch, I stand corrected. Thanks for the link, it's been quite educational.

[kc0arf]

Hi there,

You betcha. I stumbled across it a few months ago, and have been tinkering with the idea of having a domain controller linux box. It will probably wait a bit though, as my main box is RH 9, and one of these days, we will make the migratory jump to Fedora (or SuSE, all depending), and I may take my bites on a fresh install of Samba.

Glad to help.

Christian