Re: What exactly does "backend" mean?

["Kervin L. Pierre" <kervin@blueprint-tech.com>]

Loosely, a backend is what really stores your data.  It could be a 
language binding, eg. back-shell, back-tcl, back-perl or an actual 
datastore eg. back-sql ( SQL database ), back-passwd ( /etc/passwd ).

You could use back-sql to access information stored in SQL databases.

As for the win2k auth off OpenLDAP.  You can run a SAMBA PDC and the 
SAMBA head stuff :) .  You can also install a ldap GINA eg. pGINA 
http://pgina.cs.plu.edu/ .

It's actually much easier to go the other way round, ie. authenticate 
UNIX boxes off Win2k ( so much for working well with others :) .  Then 
you can use Samba's winbind or active directory schema extensions. 
Winbind has it's own set of issues though.

I use OpenLDAP with the perl backend on Win2k to keep the two databases 
in sync, instead of having one authenticate against the other. User adds 
are replicated to the Win2k OpenLDAP which use perl to add the users to 
active directory.  Passwords are sync'ed to Win2k using replication and 
password changes are exported to OpenLDAP by way of a DLL.  Works well, 
but the UNIX 'passwd' program had to be replaced by a perl script.  I 
kept some info on the project at http://acctsync.sourceforge.net/

--Kervin


Jim C wrote:
> OK, so I've configured an OpenLDAP server and 3 clients.  I've seen 
> references to useing different "backends".  This would seem to imply 
> that one could first install an LDAP server and use, for example, MySQL 
> as a backend
> then, fire up MySQL and do SQL based searches on the database.  If this 
> is correct, it would be most useful.
>
> Also can anyone point me at a good tutorial for authenticateing Win2K 
> and WinXP clients off of OpenLDAP?
> Can this even be done?  My research to date suggests that it cannot. 
> Toss me a bone here. ;)