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At this moment I am wondering what it would require in both hardware and configuration to setup my home network with smart card authentication (combined with password or pincode)

This network consists out of Ubuntu workstations (always newest release), Windows XP laptops and an Ubuntu Server.

  • Where can I buy a small amount of smartcards and what are good smartcard readers with support for both platforms
  • Do both Ubuntu and Windows have standard support for logging on with a smartcard. Is there any special requirement needed on the server?
  • What is a good manager for administration (who has which smart card)?
  • How would remote login (laptop on the road) bestly be set up?

Links to good guides and tutorials are highly appreciated.

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  • just a guess, but from my experience - this is going to be cost-prohibitive to implement for merely home use
    – warren
    Sep 17, 2009 at 9:52

1 Answer 1

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Where can I buy a small amount of smartcards and what are good smartcard readers with support for both platforms

The ASEDrive IIIe USB V2 Smart Card Reader from Athena is supported by both platforms. For less than 10 pieces, the unit price is $ 41. So you might find a cheaper one (AFAIK, prices vary from $20 to $40)

Do both Ubuntu and Windows have standard support for logging on with a smartcard. Is there any special requirement needed on the server?

For Linux, check out the Smart Card HOWTO and the section dedicated to Applications on Linux.

For Windows, Understanding and Implementing Smart Card provides a very good overview. InformIT has a nice step by step guide in the following article: Using Smartcards in Windows Server 2003/XP.

What is a good manager for administration (who has which smart card)?

How many smart cards will you manage??? What about a spreadsheet?

How would remote login (laptop on the road) bestly be set up?

Actually, I don't know. Maybe you'll find some inspiration on a site like the Sun Ray User Group Wiki.

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