Windows 10/11: pc1.ad.example.tld (RSAT utilities to manage domain members, group policies, etc…)
My current Use Case requires the above. When setting up NS8 to join my current Active Directory domain, there is not a File Server Share option like there is when using NS8 as a straight Samba domain controller.
Hopefully I’m missing a setup option, but unfortunately it appears I will have to abandon NS8 and ride out NS7 until I can find another File Server domain member solution that fits my current Use Case the way NS7 does.
The above seems like a very common Use Case. Will this Use Case be available in NS8 in another beta or 1st release?
I’d think that your specific use case - specifically using Ubuntu as Samba AD server - is VERY rare. Most using NethServer either use NethServer’s AD (Works VERY well!) or connect to a Windows Server…
People save a host or virtual host, as Ubuntu Samba Server is not really needed!
Does the Ubuntu provide anything special?
I can’t see anything obvious.
No. Ubuntu samba server was manually installed. This could have been CentOS, Rocky, RedHat, etc…The server being Ubuntu should have no bearing. So you feel that having a separate samba AD DC server and file server is VERY rare? It seems there are articles everywhere describing how to join a samba server to an existing AD as a member. Or how to join your linux file server to a Samba AD as a member. I feel it is very common to have a domain controller separate from a file server. Nevertheless, for my scenario NS7 provided this Use Case because it could easily join a AD domain as a member and serve shares. Easily interact and integrate its services with an LDAP as well. Let me know if this clarifies my use case. Thanks!
Sure, but NethServer is not “any other linux samba”, it’s intended for SMEs (small & medium enterprises).
NethServer was never intended as “a file server”, but as a single, do it all server…
Same use case as in Microsofts Small Business Server, there too, another AD was not possible!
My opinion too, you may have your own…
As nowadays even SME runs everything on a Hypervisor - or cluster, but cluster is usually out of reach or need for SME enterprises - that means AD and Samba are effectively running in one box…
But you’re forgetting: NethServer runs AD in a container inside of NethServer - so it’s already separated and even uses it’s own IP.
→ Anyone still professionally installing directly on hardware is either outdated or suffering from senility. Tough, but true
Note i do state “professionally”, I’m excluding hobbyists and home users here explicitly, although more and more of these groups are also using hypervisors now.,…
Maybe NS8 can do it - when it’s out of Beta or RC…
At the moment, the devs may have to help.
I would agree. I used it for VPN as well. It integrates nicely with LDAP services too. That’s what was so good about NS7, all the other services that would integrate so well with an LDAP via same host or different host. However for NS7 to use as a DC and file server on the same host, it would need to install the DC in a container. I chose to forgo that route and separate the DC out to its own host. Works great! More ways to skin a cat I suppose. Thanks again!
This use case is not still covered. I know there are some users that require such configuration, but from our metrics this is a feature rarely used.
For the moment, we focused on the most-common use case: AD DC and file server on the same machine.
Otherwise, you could create the AD DC on NethServer and join a NAS to it.
Maybe we are going to add your use case, but I think that will not happen for the first stable.
Using a NAS seems to be an acceptable solution to me, but I agree that it would be nice if an NS8 cluster could also connect to an external AD and act as a file server, just as NS7 did.
I like my AD to be in a dedicated VM. So I went with a setup that has two NS8 clusters. A first running an AD provider with windows file server functionality enabled, but not actually serving any files.
A second NS8 cluster connected to the first NS8 provider that serves as my main NS workhorse (running Nextcloud etc).
And finally, also virtualized but with passthrough physical disks, TrueNAS as my file server, connected to the AD provider of my first NS8 cluster.
I am quite happy with this solution as it nicely leverages the respective strengths of NS and TrueNAS.
I know there are some users that require such configuration, but from our metrics this is a feature rarely used.