Idea #1272: Ubuntu Business Network Edition

Written by johimself the 29 Feb 08 at 11:16. Category: Internet & Networking.
Related to: Nothing/Others. Status: New

Description

A server / client edition which allows network administrators who are used to Windows networking to easily migrate to an Ubuntu based system.

Features would include:
>LDAP authenticated logons/fileshares
>The user on the client machine has their home directory assigned to a location specified on the server so that regardless of which machine they log on to they get the same settings etc.
>machine accounts in the directory for easy configuration of remote client workstations. (setting startup/shutdown scripts, assigning printers/ip adresses/proxy settings etc. similar to user accounts/group policy on windows networks)
>local network apt repo for deployment of patches/new software. The client machines ask the server where the repo is hosted and downloads all approved updates in that repo (for example).
>server system with optional GUI - when not in use you can turn the GUI off to improve performance but turn it on to go through initial setup.
>Security ensured by only allowing certain users and computers to administer the servers so that only admins on admin machines can change

All of this could be set up using wizards and nice, easy to use GUIs. Something like this would be key in allowing schools/government institutions to adopt linux due to it being easy to install and configure a networking environment "out of the box".

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Comments

Auzy wrote on the 29 Feb 08 at 12:17

It might make more sense though to enhance the main distro to do all this stuff. If you look at apple for instance, they deploy enterprise via automated netboot installers. It would make more sense to have a Ubuntu Business network server, that could automate the setup and install of hundreds of clients.

I voted it up, but I do believe it should be a server

johimself wrote on the 29 Feb 08 at 15:20

I would appreciate if those who have voted this idea down could comment to say why. I understood that this was supposed to be an online brainstorming session regarding future Ubuntu releases not "Digg: Ubuntu Edition"

ebrahim wrote on the 29 Feb 08 at 21:11

I voted up.
I'm a sysadmin and I know what a treasure something like this is!

scorp123 wrote on the 1 Mar 08 at 00:54

I too can't understand why this was voted down?? I'd really love to have such a distro which would offer all the features listed above instead of having to install and configure everything manually ...

shovelhead wrote on the 1 Mar 08 at 14:53

Thumbs up! It would make life easyer and help to get ubuntu into a lot of small and medium companies, that do not really have a professional sysop but rather a team member that is better at computers than the others (honestly - that's the case in MY company).

If there would come a basic open source ERP with it (furnishers, stocks, clients, offers, sales, invoices only the basic functions, but with modules to connect to osCommerce or the likes) - that would be absolutely unbeatable.

Yanqui wrote on the 5 May 08 at 23:56

I think ubuntu workstation should be it's own sub-distro, split out like ubuntu server. No NetworkManager (it breaks dhcp sometimes, and users SHOULDN'T modify their network settings), no avahi, no power management, none of the crap most desktop users need/want. We've been working on such a package internally at my company, but it would be nice to see something like that supported. We really want to see something designed to take on redhat and suse, and with enough clout to take them out of the picture and contend directly with microsoft.

Auzy wrote on the 6 May 08 at 01:31

I still disagree with this idea, and I still think my idea 3221 should be split away from this, as my idea addresses the main issues with business administration, this doesn't really I'd say

dagss wrote on the 14 Jul 08 at 17:59

A good system for accounts and file handling is critical to this IMO. Myself I've set up this at our organization:

- Kerberos (authentication)
- LDAP (user info)
- OpenAFS (network file system with very flexible moving of user accounts between boxes, native Windows and Mac OS X clients as well as Unix clients and so on)

These are all standard Ubuntu packages but you need to string them together yourself at the moment.

If there was a simpler way to set this combination up and maintain accounts then I feel we'd beat Windows in this area (and have something that would scale to larger organization/more servers in a very painless way, and top support for Windows/Mac OS X clients for a smoother incremental transition phase).

I have quite a lot of experiences to share in this area if anyone is interested.

Auzy wrote on the 15 Jul 08 at 00:46

That would be my wrongly marked http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/3221/ dagss. Which clearly defines that it can self deploy and manage a lot of the intricities itself (as opposed to this one which just wants support for them built in)

notyetroot wrote on the 12 Aug 08 at 22:24

There's no need for too many editions. Just implement all this as packages. Now, a slipstreaming utility might be a good idea.

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