Gurus,

While I know Linux clients can join a Windows Active Directory domain using
a software called Winbind, can these Linux machines receive any sort of
system policy sent to it by the Active Directory? Policies such as domain
password policies for instance?

--
Spin

Spin-
While I'm not specifically familiar with WinBind, I do know that for other
3rd party *nix/AD integration products, if you authenticate to AD from a
Linux box using an AD user account, that account is subject to the account
policies that have been applied to the AD domain controllers.

In terms of the Linux box itself processing other Group Policy setting, I
have never seen this supported except in commercial 3rd party products like
Vintela, Centrify and Likewise, where they specifically created a version of
the GP client on those non-windows platforms, and essentially translate, or
have special extensions on Windows that are specific to non-Windows
platforms.

Frankly, what is needed is an open-source implementation of a Group Policy
client engine that folks can write to, just as they can on Windows.


Darren Mar-Elia
MS-MVP-Windows Server--Group Policy

*******************************
Secure and configure your Windows desktops accurately every time without
having to learn or install new technology.
Find out more about Desktop Policy Manager at
http://www.sdmsoftware.com/desktop_management
*******************************


"Spin" wrote in message
news:6hlffkFmm8v5U1@mid.individual.net...
> Gurus,
>
> While I know Linux clients can join a Windows Active Directory domain
> using a software called Winbind, can these Linux machines receive any sort
> of system policy sent to it by the Active Directory? Policies such as
> domain password policies for instance?
>
> --
> Spin

I would be interested if anyone can actually get this to work. I have
doubts, since *nix doesn't have registry through which Group Policies
operate. Also, most settings wouldn't apply in a *nix environment.


"Spin" wrote in message
news:6hlffkFmm8v5U1@mid.individual.net...
> Gurus,
>
> While I know Linux clients can join a Windows Active Directory domain
> using a software called Winbind, can these Linux machines receive any sort
> of system policy sent to it by the Active Directory? Policies such as
> domain password policies for instance?
>
> --
> Spin

The specific policy you mention in your post (password policies) are
enforced at the domain level for domain accounts. So that policy would
apply. It would not apply to local accounts on a Linux workstation.
Other Group policy is not applicable using Linux clients with
Samba/Winbind (yet)- those policies are proprietary to the Windows
security model and involve things like registry values, etc that are not
present on a Linux client.


Spin wrote:


> Gurus,
>
> While I know Linux clients can join a Windows Active Directory domain
> using a software called Winbind, can these Linux machines receive any
> sort of system policy sent to it by the Active Directory? Policies such
> as domain password policies for instance?
>