We are waiting for SSO ...
Well, a lot of you are waiting for SSO, fine... but it has nothing to do with above debate about roaming and NFS vs. CIFS (SMB), at least for what I uinderstand.
I believe these is a mix between various features and (end-)users as administrators are asking for some features that will make at, the end, Zentyal+Ubuntu Windows like mainly because it's free
It's fair but not that simple
Please let me explain the way I see it.
SSO stands for
Single
Sign
On
This offers capability to authenticate once and then have this credential validated and reused for multiple services. No more nor less. e.g. you authenticate first time while accessing mail and access to browser requiring authentication will not prompt you for login / password. One of the standard mechanism is to implement Kerberos (like Windows) that will, once authenticated successfully, provide user with ticket that can be reused to show that authentication was successful.
NFS. vs CIFS (SMB) is "only" remote (network) file access protocol.
Windows implements CIFS but can also implement NFS while Linux world can do the same with NFS and Samba. This doesn't make any assumption on the fact that user's data is stored "centrally".
...then roaming
in the above debate, meaning capability, for users, to move from one personal computer to another while keeping its "environment":
this means that accounts are centrally managed, first
and also that all user's data are stored elsewhere that on personal computers. This doesn't mean in one single location but at least this (these) location(s) must be store somehow with user's profile. Same for user's "desktop", preferences and so far and so on...
This is, although not perfect, pretty well achieved in Windows world and also achievable in Linux world. Former NIS and NIS+ services were targeting, at least partially, this. Now NIS is over (not enough secure) and NIS+ is too much complex. LDAP replaces one part of NIS features. I personally doubt that roaming is a must for SMB. Accounts and computer management (i.e. backup/restore) must be addressed. Perfect "roaming enabled" infrastructure will partially answer to this need but is it really a must?
To make a long story short, all the stuff required to achieve and manage this kind of implementation is far form being in the SMB (not CIFS but Small & Medium Business
) scope.
To me, the only realistic way to achieve it it to have ALL services web based, including applications.
You provide users with light, almost disk-less computers and everything is centrally managed. This is what more and more companies are offering, kind of... look at Google.
Cloud based services are also pushing in this direction: put virtually "everything" in a cloud and the you can walk, move, change... easily
because you don't own anything anymore
I'm joking a bit with such wording but this is nevertheless the concept.
Back to this thread, SSO is on component required to reach the holy grail, network file sharing is potentially another, some more are required but:
- when you ask for new feature, keep in mind the whole landscape to be sure you don't ask for SSO while you mean roaming
- do not think that SSO alone with provide everything
- ask ourself if this is really what you or your company needs because in front of potential added values values, there is a cost: there is not such thing as a free lunch
NB: I really hope Zentyal team will intervene in this debate and explain their view. How does Zentyal fit with SMB market and how does this fit or compete with Cloud landscape? Is there also e real need for roaming in the SMB world?
