ubuntu-ngo team mailing list archive

[mah@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Mark A. Hershberger)]

Laura suggested I email this to the list after I talked with her
privately about it.

As a system administrator for several years (I got my first sysadmin job
back in ‘97), I've been frustrated with the lack of manageability of
Linux systems.  To reduce the cost of managing desktop systems,
directory services that provide single-sign-on and centralized management
capabilities are needed.

Sure, there are things you can cobble together, there are ways you can
integrate Ubuntu into an AD network (see
http://xrl.us/bhj95q for an example), but these things are more
complicated than they need to be.

And, while I don't think the goal should integration with AD, when
Microsoft provides tools to easily manage computers throughout an
organization, the cost of supporting Microsoft systems is going to be
less since the cost of licensing is nothing compared to the cost of
paying for the increasingly complex IT support Ubuntu requires without
Directory services support built in.

No, this isn't a specifically NGO goal, but it is integral to the goal
that UbuntuNGO has of getting NGOs to adopting Ubuntu on the desktop.

I went through Launchpad looking for blueprints pertaining to management
and directory services and found a number of initiatives.  The problem,
though, is the hodgepodge of efforts and lack of focus.

Directory services integration is absolutely vital to getting NGOs and
others to adopt Ubuntu on any sort of scale.  Canonical and Ubuntu have
done a great job of providing an excellent out-of-the box experience for
the individual user, but scaling that up to groups of non-technical
users needs work.

We can make management of Ubuntu systems on a network just as easy as
the use of a Ubuntu itself is, but it will take some work and we can't
expect that a great desktop experience will solve all problems.

I'm interested in your thoughts,

Mark.

(cross posted to my weblog at http://hexmode.com/537969.html)

-- 
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Embrace Ignorance.  Just don't get too attached.