Comment on Windows 11 could actually become the same kind of mistake Sony made with the PS3
Wispy2891@lemmy.world 3 days agoSteps to slowly escape are this:
- Install Debian + samba 4 on a server, configure to run it as an active directory server
- Join that server to the work domain as a backup domain controller
- Install onlyoffice on all computers and set it to use onedrive
- Meanwhile install nextcloud and get used to that with a small part, with onlyoffice.
- Migrate the users that don’t use too much Microsoft 365 to nextcloud instead of onedrive, onlyoffice+nextcloud instead of office, nextcloud talk instead of teams
- Start to decommission one windows domain controller and let the Debian domain controller do its work.
- The escape door is open, start to escape
In the short term, even if it’s free, having someone do this work will definitely cost more than paying the license for windows server + all the user CALs + the office 365 subscriptions but I think ROI in 5-7 years
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
None of that is really feasible though
Wispy2891@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Average office worker won’t even notice the difference between using a spreadsheet in onlyoffice shared with colleagues in nextcloud vs using a Microsoft® Excel document over onedrive.
Nextcloud talk with the php backend sucks but compared to Microsoft teams isn’t that awful anymore
And using smb4 as active directory server is completely undistinguishable from a windows AD server. It uses the exact same Windows-based tools and GUI for adding new users, groups and policies. It’s just slightly more complex to install. A new windows server license costs $1200 + $55 for each employee in the company. Put that money towards a Linux consultant paid $200/hour to install and configure it and it’s the same. 2/3 hours to setup and 1 hour per year for maintenance. And anyway the consultant that is paid to install and configure the windows based active directory server isn’t much cheaper, just easier to find.
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
Have you worked in a sysadmin position? Nextcloud and Samba aren’t really stable enough to use In a business as they both are a massive pain. You couldn’t pay me any amount of money to support them.
Wispy2891@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I agree that managing nextcloud for hundreds of users is a mess but in my example it just needs the shared space, not any specific plugin, that means it can be replaced by any other cloud solution like paying onlyoffice to do the managed hosting for you at $8/user and doing work chats with anything that’s not Microsoft teams
Btw I find Debian+smb4 as a “set and forget” solution that needs to just be checked once a year as it requires less troubleshooting than Windows server. Only exception when Microsoft a couple years ago forced a different encryption on Windows 11 and clients couldn’t login anymore. It was patched two years earlier but Debian is “stable” and didn’t get the patch. Otherwise can pay ucs2 for commercial support