Tenable has been pushing an internal initiative to eliminate all AD use. This action speaks volumes considering they acquired an AD security company and sell a product specifically designed to secure AD.
The consequences of a compromised AD domain are drastic. We should not try to build the same vulnerabilities into Linux environments, but it’s undeniable there is value in leveraging FreeIPA et al. to interoperate with legacy environments.
But, I wonder if Microsoft might reverse their stance on EntraID being SaaS; with the handwringing about sovreignty from Europe.
Back when "the deal" was made with Microsoft to basically embed itself into the digital ecosystem of every government, major institution and company in Europe: it was not the case that a member of the european parliament could have their mail disabled arbitrarily by Microsoft- such a thing was technically possible through a lot of hoops but it was significantly less feasible.
If Microsoft was to reverse course then I'm sure it would stop all the handwringing, even if people would continue to use the EntraID product in reality.
Of course, you can still run local AD which synchronizes with Entra, but that means you get the worst of both worlds: you are paying for the cloud software but still have to manage your own servers.
I have seen the exact opposite, with people moving to things like jumpcloud, keycloak, authentik, etc.
Authentik and others can be deployed as docker containers that can be deployed any way you wish.
> I meant the classic Windows AD company LAN like solutions where the clients, server and network are tightly coupled.
In any mixed environment these days of Windows PCs, MacOS, and Linux, yeah, you can use a SaaS like jumpcloud with support for all of them, or you can integrate them into the ldap/kerb backend of your choice. Bonus points if your network devices are using RADIUS auth to the same identity source.
The costs usually come from complexity: every new user needs its credentials, guidance to services and help in error situations. New services need to be integrated to existing systems. But those won't go away, be the system anything.
- Freeipa is Linux AD, includes DNS, dogtag, and OpenLDAP.
- SSSD is how linux machines authenticate with a central directory. this includes AD.
- nss is the order of operations in which the system attempts lookups against various directories for services.
- pam is the subsystem of authentication in linux.
- kerberos is a ticket based authentication system started by MIT and popularized by Microsoft.
- ldap is a directory for information and authentication data
- DNS should not need an explanation.
Active Directory is the exact same byzantine architecture, the only reason you dont complain about it is because Microsoft has hidden nearly every meaningful internal from you with fun buttons and dropdowns like a childs toy.
Make no mistake, when it breaks it is much more cataclysmic in its complexity. major multinational corporations can spend weeks with external consultants and even Microsoft themselves trying to debug it. Most failure modes result in rebuilding the entire directory from scratch out of the sheer futility of trying to recover anything. things as simple as an OS update can cause the complete failure of the directory, replication, kerberos key subsystem, or even the ADUC tool you use to interface with any of this. Most of the time your only solution is to wait for MS to release a fix.
FreeIPA isnt complete. it doesnt include things like group policies or account expiration but its infinitely easier to debug. its individual components are well documented and offer standalone debug and trace features. most if its components have existed longer than their competitive Microsoft offerings, or at very least vastly outscale and outperform them.
Kubernetes is just as complex, but cloud providers will happily bill you by the nanosecond for the gentle equivalent of Microsofts buttons and dropdowns. Microsoft will gladly bill you for "cloud" based AD. You can just as easily deploy local users in ansible.
If an "OS upgrade" nukes your directory, that means you're running a single DC. The question is... why would you do that?
Thanks, that sentence made my day.
I have always been convinced it was on purpose. It's the point where you were supposed to decide paying Redhat is actually a good idea and nowadays it pushes towards a cloud based authentication solution you can integrate.
Realistically, who has any interest in fixing the mess?
Fwiw, all Red Hat LDAP products are based on 389DS because they thought OpenLDAP had too many pain points or something.
Okta is a multi billion dollar company, there is a lot of venture opportunity in this space.