F&P Proof Of Concept

[Matthew Carpenter]

I am in need of help and direction, please.

I work for a multi-billion dollar international organization currently using
Novell technology for F&P/Directory/etc...
A project has just arisen to develop several potential replacement proofs of
concept.  Several solutions are being evaluated, including:
*	Microsoft CIFS
*	Some NAS device using AD or eDirectory
*	Linux/Samba

I was chosen as part of the Linux/Samba team and I'd like to make sure our POC
solution does the technology justice.  I am a firm Open Source evangelist, so
my reasons are many and varied.

The solution which seems most palatible is Distributed Samba, using a central
directory for administration of authentication and rights.  While I would
ordinarily choose OpenLDAP, the company has a strong push for AD and a large
dependence upon eDirectory currently, so we would like to use one of these
directory services for said administration.

I know that there has been a bit of work in the past to make Samba do
authentication against LDAP, and even act as a member server in a AD (as well
as a great deal of NT Domain support).  The last time I used Samba in this
fashion, I recall there were several limitations, which required
system-administration on each server.  

What progress (or near-term progress) has been completed with integration and
administration against LDAP, AD, or the combination of the two?  
What is the best direction you see for our solution to compete effectively
against AD/M$?

Thank you very much in advance.  Your work has been very appreciated in the
past and I continue to marvel at the quality of Samba.

-- 
Matthew Carpenter
matt at eisgr.com                          http://www.eisgr.com/

Enterprise Information Systems
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