Network With Windows Clients And Linux Admin

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• Entry #1: Where to Start

  Tue, 13 Dec 2011:

  This log is focused on the topic of administering a windows network with a linux server.

  I'm setting up a network to manage windows PC's. We're not in a place to invest into Windows Servers (why would you when you can use linux?) and that fact is not going to let us utallize the well travelled route of Active Directory. The current state of the 'Network' is just a room full of PC's all running independantly with the same software setup, and there is a definate need to have all these computers properly networked with their user data centrallized.

  So, after searching around for good ways to avoid Windows Server, I came across a nice HOW-TO which will use samba to implement policies and redirect user folders to the network drives. The HOW-TO was found here:

  http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Samba-Authenticated-Gateway-HOWTO-1.html

  the samba wiki page also gave me some guidance as to where to start out:

  http://wiki.samba.org/index.php/Samba_%26_Windows_Profiles

  This log will start off documenting my experiences following the tpld.org HOW-TO.

  
  

• Entry #2: Ghosting Solution for Linux Server and Windows Clients

  Wed, 21 Dec 2011:

  Came across FOG today, this is going to be essential for managing the windows client PC images and their software updates. A blurb from their website:

  FOG is a Linux-based, free and open source computer imaging solution for Windows XP, Vista and 7 that ties together a few open-source tools with a php-based web interface. FOG doesn't use any boot disks, or CDs; everything is done via TFTP and PXE. Also with fog many drivers are built into the kernel, so you don't really need to worry about drivers (unless there isn't a linux kernel driver for it). FOG also supports putting an image that came from a computer with a 80GB partition onto a machine with a 40GB hard drive as long as the data is less than 40GB.

   

  
  

• Entry #3: Network/PXE Boot with FOG Flashes Menu Too Quick

  Mon, 02 Jan 2012:

  After setting up a FOG server and configuring a machine to boot off the network using PXE / Network Boot, I had an issue with the boot menu flashing too quickly to choose anything (even if I held a key down beforehand). It turned out that the timeout was set too small by default for my machine to handle.

  so, In

  /tfptboot/pxelinux.cfg/default
  
  I changed

  TIMEOUT 30

  to

  TIMEOUT 300
  

  it appears that that timeout value is in 10ths of seconds~ and only defaulted to 30 (which, in my opinion, should be enough but for some reason my machine flashed it so quick).

  
  my original post on the FOG forum