I agree - I can see the valule for some Linux-based systems, but NOT for "simulating" an AD environment. The effort to "work around" core features isn't worth the savings of 2-3 Server licenses for domain controllers. $600 US vs what you pay for the labor to tweak and adjust doesn't make sense. (FYI - I'm not a "Windows bigot" - I built my business because I could support any *nix or Windows platform equally, and even spent 10 years teaching intermediate to advanced Unix Admin & Scripting classes; I'm approaching this solely from a business perspective.)
We have a bunch of HPUX and Linux systems here at ### and have had to delay a major AD upgrade project because of SAMBA integration issues.. we can't upgrade SAMBA on HPUX so have to wait for them to be retired this fall, and can't upgrade the SAMBA on Linux because of interoperability issues between the version needed on the HPUX. Just a few months delay as the HPUX are beyond EOL, but still - it's tricky.
Internally, I use Linux for a couple of solutions where it shines. I have Linux-based load balancers, web servers, and a "meet-me" type video-conferencing/whiteboarding system.
Glenn
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Actually I
am a Rocket Scientist!
