Zorin in a School

General Help
4

Hi and welcome (to both).

@gajotnt

As Zorin 18 is a fork of Ubuntu 24.04, I used this in search criteria using Perplexity A.I. search engine in zen browser which came back with this A.I. generated answer:

" To connect Ubuntu 24.04 to a Windows Active Directory (AD) domain, you typically use the realmd/SSSD stack and then configure logins and home directories for domain users.

​

Prerequisites

  • A working AD domain (for example: corp.example.com) and an account with rights to join computers to the domain.

  • ​

  • Ubuntu 24.04 machine using the AD DNS server (often the domain controller’s IP) in its network settings so the domain can be discovered.

  • ​

  • Correct time sync between Ubuntu and the domain controller (use NTP if possible). Small time drift can break Kerberos authentication.

  • ​

Install required packages

On Ubuntu 24.04, install the components for AD integration:

bash

sudo apt update
sudo apt install realmd sssd sssd-tools libnss-sss libpam-sss adcli samba-common-bin oddjob oddjob-mkhomedir packagekit

These packages provide domain discovery (realm), authentication (sssd/Kerberos), and NSS/PAM integration so AD users appear as normal Unix accounts.

​

Discover and join the domain

  1. Ensure DNS points to the domain controller (example: 10.0.0.10):

  • Netplan example (adjust file/interface as needed):

  • text

# /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml
network:
  version: 2
  ethernets:
    eno1:
      dhcp4: yes
      nameservers:
        addresses: [10.0.0.10]
  • Apply:
    • bash
sudo netplan apply

​

  1. Discover the domain:

bash

realm discover corp.example.com

You should see output indicating server-software: active-directory and listing required packages.

  • ​
  • Join the domain:

bash

sudo realm join corp.example.com -U Administrator

Enter the AD Administrator (or delegated) password when prompted.

  • ​
  • Test that AD users resolve:

bash

id someuser@corp.example.com

If successful, you see a UID/GID and group list for that user.

  1. ​

Enable logins and home directories

  1. Allow domain users to log in (optional but common):

bash

sudo realm permit --all

This lets any domain user authenticate on the Ubuntu machine.

  • ​
  • Automatically create home directories on first login:Edit /etc/pam.d/common-session and add at the end:

text

session optional pam_mkhomedir.so skel=/etc/skel umask=077

This creates /home/<user> on first login.

  • ​
  • Optional: remove domain suffix in usernamesIf you prefer username instead of username@corp.example.com, set in /etc/sssd/sssd.conf:

text

[sssd]
# ...

[domain/corp.example.com]
# ...
use_fully_qualified_names = False

Then restart SSSD:

  1. bash
sudo systemctl restart sssd

​

Notes for Ubuntu 24.04 installer option

Ubuntu 24.04 Desktop includes an “Use Active Directory” option during installation, but early releases had hangs/bugs after entering domain information, so many admins skip that and join the domain post‑install using realmd as above. For a new deployment, joining after installation is generally more reliable on 24.04.

​

If you share more details (desktop vs server, domain name, any errors), more targeted commands and config examples can be given."

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