[Novalug] Single sign-on...

[opus at slowlanecafe.com]

I now have enough computers in different locations in my house (office, garage, basement, living room, etc.) that I'd like to "simplify" access to some of the resources on the network.  I have two servers running Ubuntu server - one is running the 8.04.02 release and the other is running the 8.10 release.  I have workstations running either Ubuntu 9.04, Debian 5.0, Windows XP Pro, and Vista.  Ideally, I'd like to be able to have the workstations authenticate all requests for access to resources and services using a single sign-on mechanism.  Is there a reasonable solution, where reasonable is defined as not-too-difficult-to-install-configure-and-manage.

As far as I can tell, the major options include NIS, LDAP, and SAMBA.  Any others?  Which one is the "best?"

Thanks.

--
Andy Anderson
Salisbury, MD, USA