The Basics
Likewise Open is a free, open source application that joins Linux, Unix, and Mac machines to Microsoft Active Directory and securely authenticates users with their domain credentials.
Likewise Open Features
- Joins non-Windows systems to Active Directory domains in a single step from the command line or from a GUI
- Authenticates users with a single user name and password on both Windows and non-Windows
- Enforces the same password policies for non-Windows users and Windows users
- Supports multiple forests with one-way and two-way cross forest trusts
- Caches credentials in case your domain controller goes down
- Provides single sign-on for SSH and Putty
- Next-generation authentication engine that supports Kerberos, NTLM, and SPNEGO
- No schema changes to Active Directory required
Likewise CIFS File Server
Likewise CIFS File Server provides client-side and server-side SMB/CIFS support so Microsoft Windows clients can access folders and files on Linux, Unix, and Mac computers.
Meantime, the Likewise CIFS FUSE module lets you mount remote Windows shares on a Linux computer to access folders and files. More: you can remotely manage Likewise CIFS File Server on Linux and Unix machines by using popular Microsoft Windows tools.
For more information on the Likewise CIFS File Server, see http://www.likewiseopen.org.
The Likewise Administrative Console
The Likewise Administrative Console is a free, extensible service for running management applications, or snap-ins, on Mac OS X and a variety of Linux platforms, including SUSE, Red Hat, Fedora, CentOS, and Ubuntu. Key features:
- An event logging component that stores authentication and security events in an embedded SQLite database.
- A graphical interface that displays events from more than 118 Linux, Unix, and Mac platforms in a common, unified format to detect and troubleshoot security problems with ease.
- An event log that supports local and remote access through secure, encrypted protocols.