[vox] Stuff you really need to run a GNU/Linux network

[Brian Lavender]

On Sun, Sep 12, 2010 at 06:13:21AM -0700, Nick Schmalenberger wrote:
> On Sun, Sep 12, 2010 at 06:02:47AM -0700, Gandalf Parker wrote:
> > On Sat, 11 Sep 2010, Brian Lavender wrote:
> > 
> > > So, before you even get started with a GNU/Linux network it seems to really
> > > be effective you need to have the following.
> > 
> > Interesting.
> > Ive run servers for over a decade. It doesnt use any of that.
> > But its an interesting viewpoint.
> >
> I think this is for an office or computer lab type situation with
> many workstations and users should be able to logon to any
> workstation with their account? I think thats how directory
> services like yellowpages, ldap and active directory are usually
> used.

That is along the lines that I am thinking. For any suited networking
environment with more than one machine, it seems that you need a good
way to replicate users and authenticate them. I noticed with Fedora 13 
that you can point it to an LDAP and KDC and you are good to go.

And, why have DNS on the local network when LDAP is perfectly suited?

The really strange thing I have noticed is when you go to organizations
and they name their systems, devmx01, smtpmark01. That is really 
annoying when you can use a directory server to store these attributes.

I think to really catapult GNU/Linux, we have to be able to easily 
deploy these services. Otherwise, we'll just remain hobbyists or single
server hackers (with backups). 

And speaking of backups, what better way can you think besides having
an offsite backup of rsyncing your data to another hot fail server?!!!

The cool thing is, ApacheDS is making this simpler! The tools for LDAP
admin has lacked sorely. 

Novell directory made Novell king, and ApacheDS / OpenLDAP can make
GNU/Linux networks king. Throw Kerberos in their too for single
sign on. 

brian
-- 
Brian Lavender
http://www.brie.com/brian/

"There are two ways of constructing a software design. One way is to
make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies. And the other
way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies."

Professor C. A. R. Hoare
The 1980 Turing award lecture