4: Windows nsswitch Module

Winbind is an nsswitch module that, using an integrated specialist implentation of a SURS mapping, maps a Windows NT Domain environment into a Unix Environment. A winbind-enabled Unix system can have users, groups and aliases from a Windows NT Domain appear as local Unix users and groups. Winbind also has a pam module (pam_winbind) that, along with winbindd, at last solves the Holy Grail of a mixed Unix and Windows NT Domain Environment: Single Sign-on.

TODO: expand this

Understanding how to correctly map between the Unix and Windows NT security models, and narrowing down the best possible places to perform this mapping has taken an extraordinarily long time to crystallise. This has resulted in SURS http://cb1.com/~lkcl/cifs/draft-lkcl-sidtouidmap-01.txt and a first practical, if specifically targetted, implementation of SURS in Winbind (cite winbind ref).

4.1: Winbind's SURS algorithm

4.2: Winbindd - Winbind Daemon

4.3: pam_winbind