My network is primarily a Microsoft Active Directory domain, with a majority of clients being member systems. An Ubuntu Linux system does not, in its default state, fit in to that network. Using a tool called Likewise Open I was very easily able to add my Ubuntu system to the Windows domain. Once the tool was installed, to login as a domain user it is just as simple as logging in with domain syntax (DOMAIN\user). That is where the expected behavior seems to end. The thing is merely an authentication tool, which would be nice in a fleet of computers running Linux. It prevents the need for having to create users on every system. A few things I really hoped would be there were not. I would have liked for my specified “HOME” path on the domain to have been followed for the Linux machine, but it was not, nor was it even mounted anywhere in the file system.
My experiment with authenticating to AD on Ubuntu was pleasant enough, but I am going to have to work more with it if I ever want to have a seemless network across all of my platforms. I suspect that if I am able to pass a logon script to my Linux machines that I may be able to resolve my issues with things not being mounted and the experience not being exactly transparent.