Comparing Likewise Enterprise and Likewise Open

What’s the difference?

Likewise Open is freely downloadable open source software for authenticating Linux, Unix, and Mac computers with Microsoft Active Directory.

Likewise Enterprise is a commercially licensed, fully supported product that provides advanced Active Directory authentication, authorization, management, and reporting capabilities for Linux, Unix, and Mac OS X computers. Likewise Enterprise includes a management console, MMC snap-ins, and hundreds of group policies that empower you to manage Linux and Unix computers within Active Directory.

Who should choose Likewise Enterprise?

If you meet any of the following business requirements, Likewise Enterprise is the solution for you:

Feature

Business Requirement
MMC snap-ins for Active Directory Users and Computers To seamlessly integrate Linux, Unix, and Mac users and computers into Microsoft Active Directory and manage their settings from a central location
Migration To migrate user information from my insecure NIS or /etc/passwd files into Active Directory
Granular Access Control To customize the mapping of an Active Directory user to a set of Unix attributes so I can provide users with different primary and secondary group memberships on different machines
Group Policy To simplify the management of my network with group policies and apply granular levels of access and privilege to different non-Windows users
Compliance and Security Reporting To demonstrate compliance with regulatory and security requirements

Feature Comparison


Feature

Likewise Open

GPL License

Likewise Enterprise

Commercial License
Tools Included
  • Agents for Linux, Unix, Mac
  • Agents for Linux, Unix, Mac
  • MMC snap-ins for Active Directory Users and Computers to centrally manage Linux, Unix, and Mac computers and users
  • Windows-side reporting console
  • Domain configuration wizard
  • Integrated migration tool
  • Orphaned objects tool
Authentication Features
  • Join Linux computers to Active Directory and apply Domain Controller policies
  • No schema changes
  • Single sign-on for SSH and Putty
  • Single UID automatically assigned
Group Policies for Linux, Unix, and Mac Apply a few policies to all Linux systems together:
  • Logon using Kerberos authentication, and allow cached logon credentials
  • Increase user-level security by requiring complex passwords that must be changed at a set interval
 Apply hundreds of group policies to non-Windows systems selectively:
  • Do more during logon: Create a home directory, copy template files, set permissions, run scripts, deliver messages, and more
  • Do more to increase security: Refresh Kerberos tickets, lock down desktops, define sudo policies, rotate logs, secure Mac system preferences
  • Automate custom processes using Cron policies and powerful scripting capabilities