Centrify Express Now Baked into Ubuntu Repository - aka Ubuntu + Active Directory Integration That Is Not "Broken"

Monday, October 18, 2010

Recently we have been hearing more and more from Ubuntu users regarding their dissatisfaction with some of the other Active Directory integration tools that they can get for free with Ubuntu, e.g. not working well and not fully tested with Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat), not supporting modern versions of Samba that come with later versions of Ubuntu, etc. The good news is that our free Active Directory integration solution, Centrify Express, is now certified by the makers of Ubuntu and is now in the Ubuntu Partner Repository, and, as more Ubuntu users are discovering, offers a superior level of stability and functionality that is resulting in more and more Ubuntu users making the move to Centrify Express. In this blog post I will detail the easy steps to get Centrify Express installed from the Ubuntu Partner Repository. (A tip of the hat to Corey Williams for helping me on this. For more details, read his community blog post, How to: Install Centrify DirectCont​rol Express on Ubuntu 10.04/10.1​0 using the Ubuntu partner repository)

Ubuntu users can take advantage of a number of built-in package managers like Software Center, Synaptic, Adept, Aptitude, apt-get or others to install software from the Ubuntu repository. Because there are many tools to do installations, this blog post is going to cover only two of them — Software Center and the CLI using apt tools.

The first step is to enable the Lucid (or Maverick) partner repository where the DirectControl Express package is made available. Via the Software Center you need to select Edit ==> Software Sources ==> Other Software (tab) and make sure the checkbox is checked for the "http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu lucid partner" (or Maverick) as follows:

You can also add the partner repository from the command line.

For Lucid

add-apt-repository "deb http://archive.canonical.com/ lucid partner"

For Maverick

add-apt-repository "deb http://archive.canonical.com/ maverick partner"

Once you have the partner repository added you are now ready to find and install the DirectControl Express bits.

From the Software Center you can search for Centrify and you will find the following package:

Simply select install, enter your sudo password and wait for installation.

Alternatively you can install via apt-get as follows:

sudo apt-get install centrifydc

Once you have successfully installed the centrifydc package you must join the system to Active Directory.

sudo adjoin -w domain.name

where domain.name is the name of your Active Directory domain.

Assuming this is successful you should be able to run the following command to verify the join:

adinfo

The output should look something like this:

cowillia@ubuntu:~$ adinfo Local host name: ubuntu Joined to domain: centrify.se Joined as: ubuntu.centrify.se Pre-win2K name: ubuntu Current DC: se-win2k8ent.centrify.se Preferred site: Default-First-Site-Name Zone: Auto Zone CentrifyDC mode: connected Licensed Features: Disabled

That's all you have to do! Your Ubuntu system (including Ubuntu 10.10!!!) is now joined to Active Directory!

Miscellaneous other comments:

• I saw this blogger put down his instructions here.
• Another blogger takes things even further and gives some pointers on how to deploy Centrify Express on Ubuntu, and also explains why he made the switch to Express: more stable, easier to install, and better performance vis-a-vis an open source alternative. I think at the end of the day what customers want is something that works and works well, and can give them an upgrade path to a wide range of functionality, and we think we deliver that with Centrify Express if you are looking for free Active Directory integration.

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