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LDAP and ActiveDirectory

Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 4:11 pm
by alex.barylski
What uses does LDAP serve under Linux? The reason I ask is, while developing an authentication layer I considered the possibility of developing a ActiveDirectory driver. Not having ever used ActiveDirectory I decided to do some research.

Confusing. :P

ActiveDirectory in combination with Windows Server seem to be doing exactly what a native Linux system does by nature. Groups, Users, Permissions. So if Linux already provides this funcitonality natively, why the need for LDAP?

I have tinkered with some deamons (postfix I think it was) and it seemed to allow customizable authentication layer (mySQL, LDAP, etc). I suppose if you had a system with a bunch of daemons which all had auth abstraction layers you could administer each under a single credential, is this the gist of the idea?

ActiveDirectory seems to promote the idea of resources as well, printers, etc...how does this fit in LDAP?

Re: LDAP and ActiveDirectory

Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 4:20 pm
by feyd
LDAP is network level connections and rights management. Linux, like other Unix based systems use local level permissions and rights management by default.

Re: LDAP and ActiveDirectory

Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 4:22 pm
by Benjamin
Hockey, Do you play Hockey?

Re: LDAP and ActiveDirectory

Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 5:00 pm
by alex.barylski
astions wrote:Hockey, Do you play Hockey?
I used to...but honestly I'm actually not a big sports fan - although I watch Hockey if I watch anything.

I have used the handle for 15+ years (or however long I've had to sign into local BBS's, etc). Old habits die hard. :P It's actually served me well. For starters, unlike "Alex" the name "hockey" has never been 'already taken'. Secondly, I've had people contract me, just because they were fans of the sport and it started conversation.

Do you play Hockey? Did you watch the Juniors Canada team swallow the Swedes whole? :P I did. :)

Re: LDAP and ActiveDirectory

Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 5:09 pm
by Benjamin
I myself don't play hockey. I had a crazy friend that did and went to watch a few games with him. Once he managed to anger the opposing team so much that we ended up running to the car and squealing tires to get out of there with the entire team chasing us with hockey sticks. At the time we thought it was funny but looking back it's probably good they didn't catch up to us.. or him at least.

Re: LDAP and ActiveDirectory

Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 5:19 pm
by alex.barylski
astions wrote:I myself don't play hockey. I had a crazy friend that did and went to watch a few games with him. Once he managed to anger the opposing team so much that we ended up running to the car and squealing tires to get out of there with the entire team chasing us with hockey sticks. At the time we thought it was funny but looking back it's probably good they didn't catch up to us.. or him at least.
Hmmm...thats to bad...

Perhaps it's propaganda...but I swear that only happens in American Hockey leagues. :P Was it an NHL game or rec league? In all my years of watching hockey games...I've only seen a few parents occassionally flip out on referee's while walking on the ice like a clucking chicken. All the fights were executed by the players.

Of course, I'm kidding about American hockey having violent attendee's. Unfortunately this seems to happen in every sport, especially Soccer and/or Rugby. I personally think it's silly. Sports are all about winning, if you can't stand your team loosing, stay home. As a player or a parent or a fan, you should expect rivals to hex and boo your team every chance they get, thats what makes the game exciting.

Regardless of success or failure, it's in everyone's best interest to goto the same bar post-game and celebrate both victory and loss.

I hate when people go bonkers...that is not in the spirit of good sportsmenship. :drunk:

Re: LDAP and ActiveDirectory

Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 9:07 pm
by John Cartwright
:offtopic: Back on topic please...

Re: LDAP and ActiveDirectory

Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 9:13 pm
by Benjamin
Hockey and I were bonding :drunk:

I don't even know what LDAP is.

Re: LDAP and ActiveDirectory

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 9:45 pm
by guitarlvr
Active Directory is a lot more than groups, users, and permissions. It allows an administrator to centrally put users into organized folders and then add policies to those folders. I know that sounds a lot like permissions but those poclies can be just about anything. One can control access to certain programs, can install programs to users PC's without them knowing, control access to the command prompt, control panel, etc. I'm not sure what linux can do natively, if it can do that but thats in a nutshell what AD is.

Re: LDAP and ActiveDirectory

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 4:08 am
by alex.barylski
If LDAP was actually LAPD...I bet more people would use it... 8)

Re: LDAP and ActiveDirectory

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:19 am
by guitarlvr
Hockey wrote:If LDAP was actually LAPD...I bet more people would use it... 8)
LOL thats the truth.