[Samba] samba pdc & ldap vs mysql

Adam Tauno Williams adamtaunowilliams at gmail.com
Sat Sep 15 22:16:39 GMT 2007


> > I understand your point of view, but most of time people prefer have
> > only an username and password instead one for each application and
> > system they use.
> that is exactly what I want to do; so, using ldap, I can have the same 
> user/pass for both domain and mailbox
> based on your experience, which would fit better with postfix/courier 
> and samba ?

Using LDAP is standard for most applications and well supported;
information on LDAP integration is plentiful;  Postfix has supported
LDAP for a long time and a standard SASL build supports LDAP.

Using something like MySQL for auth/ident is hackish and very
non-standard;  you'd be creating a site specific solution.  It is
important to think about what happens if someone needs to come in and
work in your environment.  LDAP is common and well understood,  people
expect LDAP in anything but the smallest networks.

> > There are other options, but I prefer LDAP for account management and
> > centralization. Others will prefer MySQL.
> >>> I'm a ldap fan. LDAP could be used to centralize all kind of app and
> >>> system you could need, even intranet accounts, samba, a replace for
> >>> nis, postfix, qmail, and so on.
> >> Don't put all your eggs into one basket ...

Yes, do.  One basket is EXACTLY what you want.   We use LDAP for ident
(NSS & SAMBA) &  authentication (mainly via PAM, SASL, & Samba), DHCP,
DNS, mail routing, IM groups, user preferences, and lots of other
things.  It is a major labor savings to have ONE store for all this
information that can all be managed by a very well supported and
standard protocol (LDAP).  Whether you want to use Perl, Python, C#,
Java, PHP, etc... you can access your data - no mucking about with
is-it-compiled-to-support... or drivers, etc...

-- 
Adam Tauno Williams, Network & Systems Administrator
Consultant - http://www.whitemiceconsulting.com
Developer - http://www.opengroupware.org



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