[ranger1]

i presently have windows server 2003. active directory has me flustered. groups are too complicated.

i was wondering if i switched my server to a linux server, would it allow me to:

i. create domains
ii. manage users like in active directory.
iii. share folders with users on my network.
iv.easy to install
v. work with the windows xp and vista computers on my network

[rhynes]

Ranger1, stick with windows 2003.

I personally love Linux, it offers up a powerful server but it's one heck of a learning curve. Samba takes minutes to set up when you know what you're doing, but trying to learn the process for a production environment and work all the bugs out? Wow is all I have to say...

It's a good OS to learn tho, you could add one to your existing domain and play with it.

You say groups got you flustered? How many users do you have and how many shares?

[tomdkat]

Samba should be able to provide most of what's on your list but I'm not sure about the "management of users" part. I'm just not familiar enough with current Samba releases to know what functions it performs, in this regard.

I suggest reading the Samba doc, namely this guide. It talks about configuring Samba in various scenarios and maybe one of those scenarios fits your needs. If it does, you can get an idea of what would be involved. Samba can serve as a PDC or a BDC and can join an AD.

If you're struggling with Windows 2003 server and AD, you might want to spend your resources learning more about AD (maybe take a class). That might help more than switching server platforms.

Good luck!

Peace...

[briealeida]

If you are using Windows Server 2003, I would *strongly* recommend that you buy the Mastering Windows Server 2003 book by Mark Minasi. I use that OS at work (in addition to Linux, clearly) and it has taught me so much and been more useful than Google in some situations.

Best of luck.

[ranger1]

thanks for the heads up. I have around 80 users. there is one account that i also intend to create that could be access by 45 users at once. like the guest account, but i want to sto using the guest account, as there is no control over. will many users accessing the same account give problems?