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I'm replacing my Windows workstations.

Can Ubuntu "login using AD" to Windows Server 2008 R2? Like Windows workstations that belong to a domain?

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why this question get two downgrades? – B14D3 Mar 26 '12 at 11:02
Not my downvote, but I really think you should ask it in askubuntu.com – amyassin Mar 26 '12 at 11:03
1  
I haven't downvoted, but, given that the I Feel Lucky google search gives you the official docs, I think it's understandable. It's not an obscure piece of knowledge. If you have actual implementation questions, that would be looked on more favorably. – cjc Mar 26 '12 at 13:19

3 Answers

up vote 4 down vote

Yes, after I typed "active directory ubuntu authenticate" into google, the top page was this:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ActiveDirectoryHowto

So yes you can do that.

There are several ways to use AD for authentication, you can use Centrify Express, Likewise Open, pam_krb5, LDAP or winbind. For Centrify Express see DirectControl. Centrify Express can be used to integrate servers or desktops with Active Directory. Likewise Open is also a solution for Linux workstations to authenticate to an Active Directory domain. For Likewise Open see LikewiseOpen or Likewise Open. For Winbind see ActiveDirectoryWinbindHowto.

LikewiseOpen will be easiest:

Just install the packages: 

# apt-get install likewise-open

If you want to have the gui for it:

# apt-get install likewise-open-gui

Then to integrate it through CLI: Once you've installed the likewise-open package the main executable file is /usr/bin/domainjoin-cli which is used to join your computer to the domain. Before you join a domain you will need to make sure:

  • You have access to an Active Directory user with appropriate access.
  • The Fully Qualified Domain Name of the domain you want to join.
  • DNS for the domain is set up appropriately. Likewise Software provides a healthcheck script to assist users in insuring their machines are configured correctly. The script can be downloaded from http://www.likewiseopen.org/Likewise-PreCheck.zip

To join a domain from a terminal prompt enter:

sudo domainjoin-cli join example.local Administrator

You will then be prompted for the user's password. Administrator in the example above. If all goes well a SUCCESS message should be printed to the console.

The account specified in the domainjoin-cli argument must have permission to join machines in Active Directory.

After joining the domain, Likewise Software advises users restart their machines as a number of daemons must be restarted in a specific sequence.

Logging in

Once you have successfully joined a Ubuntu machine to an Active Directory domain you can login using any valid AD user. To login you will need to enter the user name as 'domain\username'. For example to ssh to a server joined to the domain enter:

ssh 'example\joan'@hostname

or

ssh example\\joan@hostname

or

ssh -l 'example\joan' hostname

If configuring a Desktop the username will need to be prefixed with domain\ in gdm.

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Whilst this may theoretically answer the question, it would be preferable to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference. You should know better than to do that. – Iain♦ Mar 26 '12 at 11:49
Updated my answer, sorry Iain :( – Lucas Kauffman Mar 26 '12 at 13:10
up vote 3 down vote

Likewise Open is a good easy way to do that.

As from Ubuntu help page:

sudo apt-get install likewise-open
sudo domainjoin-cli join example.com user

Where user is a user with the privilege to join a computer to the domain, example.com is the Windows Active Directory Domain name.

Then you'll be prompted for the password for user. If successful, a SUCCESS message will be displayed. A reboot is a necessity after the successful join to the domain.

Also there is a graphical interface for likewise-open...

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Whilst this may theoretically answer the question, it would be preferable to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference. – Iain♦ Mar 26 '12 at 11:49
@lain thanks, just edited and gave the answer with the link as a reference... – amyassin Mar 26 '12 at 12:16
up vote -1 down vote

Yes, it's possible, but can be quite a pain to set-up.

You have to install libnss-ldap and configure your workstation properly.

See the Ubuntu guide to get started.

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Whilst this may theoretically answer the question, it would be preferable to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference. – Iain♦ Mar 26 '12 at 11:50
Whilst I do agree with your point, the essential point of the question was to know whether it was possible, not how to do it :D Won't do it again... – T. Fabre Mar 26 '12 at 15:30
@Iain - if question was "Can...", anser "Yes" is perfectly valid. Teach OP to ask good question, not answerer, which done own job well – Lazy Badger Mar 26 '12 at 17:13
@T.Fabre - Do not bend! And do not sit down to play with sharpers on their rules – Lazy Badger Mar 26 '12 at 17:16
@LazyBadger: As you know, that's not how we like it. – Iain♦ Mar 26 '12 at 19:02
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