Customer case

MIGRATING FROM SAMBA 3 TO SAMBA ACTIVE DIRECTORY

PRIVATE SECTOR – BANQUE CENTRALE DES ETATS DE L’AFRIQUE DE L’OUEST

In order to ensure the security of its IT assets, the Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest wanted to migrate from Samba3 to Samba Active Directory. But why? How did they do it? How did they feel about it? We explain.

Presentation

The Central Bank of West African States is a network of 24 branches located in the main cities of the West African economic and monetary zone. The bank and its regional agencies are responsible for issuing CFA franc banknotes, and for collecting and destroying used notes. Finally, BCEAO is responsible for issuing the banknotes of its 8 member states, as is the ECB in Europe. Each of the 24 branches operates an office automation domain based on Samba3 software, which is highly critical and rapidly becoming obsolete.

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As part of the SAMBA-AD migration, this involved:

  • Merge office networks to enable VIPs to connect, regardless of the regional bank visited;
  • Improve network security implementing 802.1x and Active Directory ;
  • Convert to market technical standards;
  • Continue with Samba as it has always worked for BCEAO.
  • Excerpt from the project report

    The BCEAO thus mandated TRANQUIL IT to support its teams in:

    Migrating from Windows Samba3-PDC-NT4 domains to Samba Active Directory technology,

    Renaming the primary domain while merging all 26 domains into a single BCEAO domain.

    Denis CARDON, a graduate engineer from ENS des Mines de Nancy and General Manager of TRANQUIL IT, along with Yvan KARMOUTA, were involved in Dakar from mid-September to mid-October 2015. BCEAO has long invested in open-source IT technologies. This strategy offers the advantage of developing local skills and reduces the importation of technologies without the associated knowledge transfer.

    Samba3 domain technologies are based on the operation of Windows Server NT4, with several enhancements to handle higher loads and ensure greater security. However, NT4 quickly becomes obsolete. For instance, the latest version of Windows 10 cannot be integrated into a Samba3-NT4-PDC domain unless using the outdated CIFS/SMB1 protocol.

    Therefore, the choice to migrate from Samba3 to Samba Active Directory was logically mandated. Moreover, this is also a concern for many French administrations that historically chose Samba. Choosing Samba4-AD over MSAD is not the most obvious choice, and many organizations are questioning this option.

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    21/11/2024 : 10h30 - 11h30

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