A lot of small businesses run a Microsoft Windows server with Active Directory to manage their users. Nextcloud has extensive user management with built-in LDAP and Active Directory support, but setting it up is a bit of a hassle. Univention Corporate Server (UCS), a popular platform to run Nextcloud on for small and medium sized businesses, makes this integration a lot easier.
Running Nextcloud in a small business
Nextcloud runs on a wide variety of Linux servers like Ubuntu, RHEL/CentOS or SUSE Linux Enterprise/LEAP. For a company that runs a Windows server, it might perhaps make sense to consolidate their services and run Nextcloud in a virtual machine.
After the basic installation, the administrator setting up Nextcloud has to go to the user management settings and connect to the Active Directory services to be able to manage users in one place, on the Windows Server.
Univention makes this easier
Univention Corporate Server makes this process easier. Companies can simply get a virtual machine image with UCS and Nextcloud preconfigured. Nextcloud is integrated with the built-in LDAP directory and during installation, the administrator can add UCS to an existing Active Directory environment. In this mode UCS will work as a kind of proxy for user identities in Active Directory, seamlessly connecting Nextcloud to the Windows server without any manual work. (see the documentation here)
An alternative approach would be to setup a separate environment based on UCS, a new Active Directory domain. This new domain can be connected to an existing Active Directory domain to share and synchronize user and group objects. This is not an Active Directory Federation. The two separate domains just share the same information on identities. (see the documentation here)
Running UCS already?
Companies already running UCS can install Nextcloud easily from the Univention App Center (and throw in Collabora Online with another click, if they like, just as is possible with the Appliance after installation). Nextcloud will automatically be integrated in their existing UCS domain, making Nextcloud available for their users. An existing UCS domain can be connected with the Active Directory Connection app, also available in the App Center.
Migrating away from Active Directory
UCS even supports migrations away from Microsoft Active Directory. With the AD Takeover app UCS allows a drop-in replacement of the Windows Server’s user directory. There are a lot of reasons why organizations think about getting rid of their Microsoft Windows server. It may be costs, Microsoft’s product politics, better integration with other software they run or they simply want to increase their decision options and take back control. (see documentation here)
Simplify management
Running Nextcloud with UCS simplifies installation and maintenance of Nextcloud itself and it centralizes user management. Updates on the platform are developed by Nextcloud engineers and for larger installations it is easy to purchase a Nextcloud Subscription through the platform.
Presentamos Nextcloud Talk «Munich», una plataforma de comunicación de código abierto que ofrece una respuesta contundente a las nubes de Big Tech y es digitalmente soberana para equipos híbridos. Ahora es aún más resistente, potente y fácil de poner en marcha. Más información.
Bienvenido a Nextcloud Hub 10. Nuestra última versión viene con un rendimiento reforzado en todas las aplicaciones, una integración más profunda en toda la plataforma y docenas de nuevas funciones que te facilitarán el día a día.
Almost seven years ago, in October 2018, our CEO and founder Frank Kartlitschek used the € 20,000 from winning the prestigious Reinhard von Koenig award to launch a brand new initiative: “Nextcloud Include.” As an open source diversity project, Nextcloud Include addresses the needs of underrepresented groups to join the Nextcloud project. By building an […]
In early 2025, U.S. hyperscalers began to push new “sovereign cloud” offerings in a big PR campaign in Europe. In the past weeks, their narrative has collapsed. It’s not critics or watchdogs exposing the contradictions — the tech firms themselves have admitted their "sovereign" promises are empty.
Passionate about data privacy and Nextcloud? We invite you speak at the Nextcloud Community Conference to share your experience, knowledge and news with the community!
Guardamos algunas cookies para contar los visitantes y facilitar el uso del sitio. Esto no sale de nuestro servidor y no es para rastrearte personalmente. Consulta nuestra política de privacidad para obtener más información. Personalización
Cookies utilizadas para guardar los datos introducidos en los formularios, como nombre, correo electrónico, número de teléfono e idioma preferido.
Nombre de la cookie:nc_form_fields
Descripción de la cookie:Recuerda los datos introducidos en los formularios para la próxima vez (nombre, correo electrónico, teléfono e idioma preferido)
Las cookies estadísticas recopilan información de forma anónima y nos ayudan a comprender cómo utilizan nuestro sitio web nuestros visitantes. Utilizamos Matomo alojado en la nube.
Servicio:Matomo
Descripción de la cookie:
_pk_ses*: Cuenta la primera visita del usuario
_pk_id*: Ayuda a no contar dos veces las visitas.
mtm_cookie_consent: Recuerda que el usuario ha dado su consentimiento para almacenar y utilizar cookies.
Caducidad de la cookie:_pk_ses*: 30 minutos
_pk_id*: 28 días
mtm_cookie_consent: 30 días