In my last column, I promised to detail the building of a Panther server as an Open Directory (OD) Master and Windows Primary Domain Controller (PDC). Now that my system is up and running, I can tell you how it was done.

It's important to note that for primarily Windows shops, the Panther server can participate in an Active Directory environment as a member server, relying on the AD Master to handle authentication quite nicely. The setup of a Panther server as a PDC, however, is oriented mainly to Apple shops and those who wish to easily integrate Windows desktops without having to maintain a parallel server environment.

I have two Xservers in this configuration. The first acts as the primary authentication server housing the OD Master and the Windows PDC. The second server is the OD replica that handles authentication whenever the master is off-line, and it also acts as the file server.

By Yuval Kossovsky at Computerworld.

[ Read more ]