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Samba vs 389 Directory Server: catalog facts
Samba	389 Directory Server
Free Free and open source under the GNU GPL.	Free Free and open source.
Linux, Self-hosted	Linux, Self-hosted
Serves files and printers to Windows, macOS and Linux clients Can run as an Active Directory domain controller	Multi-supplier replication for scaling and fail-over Proven in very large deployments
Configuration can be complex, especially for AD roles Runs on Linux and Unix-like systems only	Linux only Requires LDAP knowledge to run well
Downloadable app, Self-hosted	Downloadable app, Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-3.0	License not stated
No account needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 24, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.