How It Works: An Overview of Components, Standards, and Protocols

Authentication, Group Policy, Audit and Reporting

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Likewise seamlessly joins Linux, Unix, and Mac OS X computers to Microsoft Active Directory so that you can centrally manage all your computers, authenticate users, control access to resources, and apply group policies to non-Windows computers.

By joining non-Windows computers to Active Directory – a secure, scalable, stable, and proven identity management system – Likewise gives you the power to manage all your users' identities in one place, use the highly secure Kerberos 5 protocol to authenticate users in the same way on all your systems, apply granular access controls to sensitive resources, and centrally administer Linux, Unix, Mac, and Windows computers with group policies. To manage Linux and Unix machines in Active Directory, Likewise Enterprise comprises several software components, each of which provides part of the functionality necessary to achieve interoperability:

Component	Function
Agent	• Joins a Linux or Unix computer to Active Directory with the domain join command-line interface or GUI. • Communicates with an Active Directory Domain Controller to authenticate and authorize users and groups by using the Likewise authentication daemon. • Pulls and refreshes group policies by using the Likewise group policy daemon.
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Management Console	• Runs on a Windows administrative workstation that connects to an Active Directory Domain Controller to help manage Linux, Unix, and Mac OS X computers within Active Directory. • Migrates users, checks status, finds and removes orphaned objects, and generates reports.
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MMC Snap-Ins for ADUC & GPOE	• Extends Active Directory Users and Computers to include Unix and Linux users. • Extends the Group Policy Object Editor and the Group Policy Management Console to include Linux, Unix, and Mac OS X group policies as well as a way to target them at specific platforms.
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Cell Manager	• An MMC snap-in to manage cells associated with Active Directory Organizational Units.
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How Likewise Data Flows Through the System

The diagram below shows how the Likewise agent, the Likewise Management Console, and the Likewise MMC snap-ins interact with PAM, NSS, and Kerberos to provide interoperability with Active Directory:

        

Standards and Protocols

Likewise Enterprise uses the following standards, protocols, and RFCs:

• Kerberos 5 (RFC 4120)
• LDAP (RFC 4511 and 2307)
• DNS (RFC 1035 and 3645)
• SMB/CIFS
• MSRPC

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