Univention Corporate Server

Univention Corporate Server is an enterprise-ready Linux server distribution based on the Debian GNU/Linux operating system. It provides a reliable and pre-configured server environment for small-business customers, as well as for big corporations and non-profit organizations. Univention Corporate Server features support for Microsoft Active Directory-compatible domain services, an integrated management system for the administration of clients, servers and users, as well as functions for parallel operation of virtualized desktop and server operating systems.

No live environment is available

Being a server oriented distribution, there is no live environment available. However, the installation process should take about 30 minutes from the moment you insert the USB or DVD media into your computer. The boot menu of the Univention Corporate Server operating system is powered by the GRUB bootloader software and provides three options, allowing users to basically install the distribution, as well as to boot the operating system that is currently installed on the machine’s disk drive.

Installing Univention Corporate Server

During the installation, you will be able to select the system’s role, which varies from Master domain controller, Backup domain controller and Slave domain controller, to base system and member server. Once installed, the entire configuration of the server is done via an easy-to-use and intuitive web interface, which can be accessed from any platform. In addition, the App Center tool allows users to easily install and manage applications and components in the Univention Corporate Server Linux operating system.

An enterprise-ready Linux distribution

Univention Corporate Server installs an enterprise-ready Linux distribution as a virtual foundation for a secure, cost-efficient and stable IT infrastructure. It features a wide range of open source server software, single sign-on (SSO) functionality for both users and cloud services. It is available for free, supporting both 64-bit and 32-bit architectures, and we strongly believe that you should use it as an alternative to Microsoft’s expensive server solutions.

What is new in this release:

• The UMC system diagnostic module has been extended with additional tests. They support the administrator to check the system health of the UCS system and the whole domain.
• The management system usability and configurability has been expanded. The expected usability has been improved in several places, for example when configuring email addresses or DNS settings.
• A content-security-policy has been integrated in the UCS management system to increase the browser security by protecting web cookies.
• Various security updates have been integrated into UCS 4.3-1, e.g. Apache2, the Linux kernel and Samba4.

What is new in version :

• For the UMC diagnostic module, a large number of additional functional tests have been added to help the administrator check the health of the server and the entire domain.
• The usability and configurability of the management system were further expanded. The design of the assistants and dialogues of the management system was revised with regard to usability aspects. Additional configuration options for the single sign-on of the management system have also been added, e. g. the configurability of the certificate used.
• When a UCS system joins a Microsoft Active Directory domain, more checks are now performed. This allows to display information about known problems, including hints on how to correct them.
• Various security updates have been integrated into UCS 4.2-3, for example for the Linux kernel, Samba, Asterisk.

What is new in version 4.2-2:

• The portal is now also easily usable in cloud setups. The services installed on UCS, for example, are directly accessible without further configuration steps. For this purpose, the portal converts existing links into relative links. For portal entries with multiple links, heuristic procedures are used to determine the best link.
• The usability of the management system has been further improved. This allows users and groups to be copied, the error handling has been improved in several places, as did the performance.
• Each app provider can now create their own App Appliances via the App Provider Portal. App Appliances bundle an app with UCS into an immediately usable virtual machine. In addition, the integration depth of the apps can be significantly increased by so-called app settings. These can be created by the app provider simply via the provider portal without additional programming knowledge.
• Various security updates were integrated into UCS 4.2-2, .e g. for OpenLDAP, the Linux kernel, Samba, MySQL or PostgreSQL.

What is new in version 4.2-1:

• A forwarding of e-mails can now be set per mail user in the management system.
• Changing the password to log on to the UCS management system has been improved. This allows users from a Microsoft Active Directory domain to change their expired password. In addition, more information is displayed if the password change fails.
• When logging on as root user, a hint now appears, since for root unlike Administrator u.a. the domain modules are not available.
• The IPv6 configuration capabilities of various services have been improved, for example in the Nagios or proxy server configuration and in the management system.
• The App Center docker integration has been improved, so it now better reacts to errors. In addition, the proxy configuration of the UCS system is now forwarded to the docker app.

What is new in version 4.2:

• The Debian base in UCS was changed from Debian 7 (Wheezy) to Debian 8 (Jessie). The entire Debian distribution will no longer be rebuilt. This allows security updates to be released even faster, and binary compatibility is increased.
• This change also involves the switch of the default startup system to systemd. However, all previous init scripts are still started, so that the apps can be migrated successively.
• A configurable web portal provides an overview of the services installed in the domain.
• If there is more than one UCS system in the domain, an overview of servers is displayed.
• Many design and usability improvements have been made to the UCS management system.
• If SAML (Web Single-Sign-On) is configured and the name resolution works for the browser, the login to the UCS management system will be assigned directly to single sign-on.
• The usability and user guidance of the password self service1 was revised after usability tests.
• Update to Samba 4.64 with lots of detail improvements and better performance.
• Update to Kernel 4.91.
• Update to Docker 1.12.
• Update the virtualization components QEMU / KVM2 to version 2.8.
• The Univention Directory listener now internally uses the LMBD3, which has been used very successfully for OpenLDAP since UCS 4.0.

What is new in version 4.1-4 / 4.2 Milestone 2:

• The installation wizard and the UCS management system are now also available in French.
• Samba has been updated to version 4.5.1. This includes various improvements, among other things the DRS replication, the Active Directory compatibility, the file services and the printer handling.
• The Linux kernel has been updated to the latest stable version of the 4.1 long term kernel. This includes several security updates, improvements in the stability, as well as newer and updated drivers for a better hardware support.
• Dockerized apps can now use the database on the UCS system using a simple configuration setting, which simplifies the migration to dockerize apps.

What is new in version 4.1-4 / 4.2 Milestone 1:

• The installation wizard and the UCS management system are now also available in French.
• Samba has been updated to version 4.5.1. This includes various improvements, among other things the DRS replication, the Active Directory compatibility, the file services and the printer handling.
• The Linux kernel has been updated to the latest stable version of the 4.1 long term kernel. This includes several security updates, improvements in the stability, as well as newer and updated drivers for a better hardware support.
• Dockerized apps can now use the database on the UCS system using a simple configuration setting, which simplifies the migration to dockerize apps.

What is new in version 4.1-4:

• The installation wizard and the UCS management system are now also available in French.
• Samba has been updated to version 4.5.1. This includes various improvements, among other things the DRS replication, the Active Directory compatibility, the file services and the printer handling.
• The Linux kernel has been updated to the latest stable version of the 4.1 long term kernel. This includes several security updates, improvements in the stability, as well as newer and updated drivers for a better hardware support.
• Dockerized apps can now use the database on the UCS system using a simple configuration setting, which simplifies the migration to dockerize apps.

What is new in version 4.1-3:

• The App Center has been improved in several areas and further possibilities for the migration of apps to "dockerized" apps have been implemented.
• The replication of directory service objects has been stabilized in numerous corner cases.
• The domain join of additional Samba based Active Directory domain controllers is now possible with more than 100,000 directory service objects.
• The app appliances have been extended further and they now allow app providers to define an own branding as well as to activate a fast demonstration mode. Testers can now evaluate the app in the appliance very fast with pre-defined settings.
• Configuration settings for the database management system MySQL can now be definied via UCR variables. For example apps can easier alter settings of the database system according to their needs.
• Several import security updates have been integrated in UCS 4.1-3, among others for libvirt OpenSSL, QEMU and Samba. Furthermore, security updates in the standard LDAP ACLs and the UMC server have been integrated.

What is new in version 4.1-2:

What is new in version 4.1-1:

• The Linux kernel has been updated to 4.1.16. This includes several security updates as well as new and updated drivers for better hardware support.
• The compatibility to Active Directory has been improved with the Samba update to 4.3.3. This includes, among others, improvements in the DRS replication and several security updates.
• Univention Virtual Machine Manager (UVMM) is now able to manage Virtual Private Clouds (VPC) in Amazon Web Services (AWS). This provides the possibility to administrate virtual machines in the EC2 region eu-central-1 (Frankfurt am Main).
• The performance of the directory service replication has been increased significantly. Thus, the join into a domain with thousands of users is much faster.
• Several enhancements in design and usability of the Univention App Center have been implemented. For example, it is now possible to navigate easily between the different Apps. Additionally, the App Center startup performance has been increased significantly.
• The compatibility to the Internet Explorer has been improved. Furthermore, the browser compatibility list has been update. Users of older no longer supported browsers receive a notification.
• Numerous bugfixes and improvements in the area of localization and internationalization have been made so that own translations can be added easily.
• Numerous enhancements, amoung others:
• UVMM supports the migration of stopped virtual machines.
• Management and provisioning of Active Directory functions provided by Samba has been enhanced.
• The self service functions have been improved.
• The installer now supports the automatic setup of systems in the role domain controller master.
• Automatic monitoring of the provisioning of the built-in Active Directory via Nagios.
• Improvements on the management of the print server
• Improvements on the rubustness of the LDAP replication
• Numerous security updates, amoung others for MySQL, OpenJDK or the Bootloader Grub.
• Extensive stability improvements amount other things in the App Center, the installer, the management of Samba as well as in the UCS management system.
• Usability enhancements besides the App Center also in the installer, the UCS management system, in the updater as well as in UVMM.

What is new in version 4.1:

• The Univention App Center integrates the container technology Docker. With Docker, it is possible to run Apps separately and encapsulated from each other. This increases the security of the UCS domain and reduces the dependencies of the Apps on other software libraries. The integration of Docker is transparent to the users. The App Center will automatically perform the startup and configuration of the Docker containers.
• The Univention App Center's usability has been improved further. Apps are now displayed more clearly. The App detail pages have been cleaned up and supplemented by a rating in the categories Vendor Supported, Popularity's Award and Editor's Award. The classification is based on data such as the installation base of the Apps or the maintenance behaviour of the app providers. Thus, the transparency and comparability of Apps are increased.
• Single sign-on via SAML is a product component from UCS 4.1 and works out of the box with the UCS management system. Once logged in, you can switch between web applications without an additional login.
• Users can independently change their password or reset it in case of a forgotten password via the new Self Service. In this case, a token will be sent to an e-mail address or mobile phone number that has to be defined in advance by the users. The then received token can be used to set a new password.
• The Linux kernel has been updated to the latest stable version of the 4.1 longterm kernel. This includes several security updates as well as new and updated drivers for better hardware support.
• Samba has been updated to version 4.3.1. Besides many detail improvements, Samba 4.3 provides support for SMB 3.1.1, which was introduced by Microsoft with Windows 10 and provides security improvements and more features.

What is new in version 4.0-3:

• The mail server Dovecot has been integrated as standard IMAP/POP3 server into UCS and offers an alternative to the still available Cyrus IMAP server. More information is available in this blog article.
• The compatibility to Active Directory has been improved with the Samba update to 4.2.3. This includes, among others, improvements in the DRS replication and the printer driver handling. In addition, the join of Huawai storage systems in the Active Directory domain provided by UCS is now also possible.
• Several enhancements in design and usability of the Univention Management Console have been implemented. For example, it is now possible to use the forward and back buttons of the web browser. This allows a simpler and faster navigation in the management interface.
• LDAP filters can now be defined for LDAP policies. That means the LDAP policy applies only to the objects that match the LDAP filter. This makes it possible to use LDAP policies in an easy and generic way especially in large environments.
• The Linux kernel has been updated to the latest stable version of the 3.16 longterm kernel. This includes several security updates as well as new and updated drivers for a better hardware support.
• All security updates released for UCS 4.0-2 are included in this update. It is now also possible to redirect all HTTP requests to HTTPS by only setting an Univention Configuration Registry variable. This increases the security of the UCS system.

What is new in version 4.0-2:

• The Free for personal Use licence was replaced by the UCS Core Edition license. This allows the usage of UCS in commercial settings without charge. The upgrade of the licence is described in SDB 1324. Further information on the UCS Core Edition is provided on https://www.univention.com/products/prices/.
• The container virtualization Docker was added to UCS. This allows to run Docker containers on UCS systems. First Docker images of UCS itself are also available. Further information is provided on http://wiki.univention.de/index.php?title=Docker.
• For creating Apps a separate tutorial is now available.
• An App installed on a remote system is now automatically configured by running its join scripts.
• Several enhancements and bugfixes in design and usability of the Univention Management Console were done.
• A mode to install UCS systems unattended over the network was added.
• The compatibility to Active Directory has been improved. This allows Windows 2008 R2 Foundation Servers to join the domain as a member server. In addition to that a problem regarding the resolution of SIDs with NetApp Storage Systems has been fixed.
• The web server Apache and mail server Postfix now support several additional settings related to encryption and other security related options. In addition to that several old cryptographic algorithms have been disabled by default.

What is new in version 4.0-1:

• Integration of the Debian "Wheezy" 7.8 point update
• Extending the "Free for personal Use" edition license to 50 users and 50 clients
• Simplified system installation and setup of cloud instances by improvements in the appliance mode
• Simplified join to an Active Directory domain
• Multiple bugfixes and improvements related to Samba, e.g. in the printer support and using Microsoft Sharepoint
• Several enhancements and bugfixes in design and usability of the Univention Management Console
• Updated DVD ISO Image for 64 Bit
• Update DVD for 32 Bit and 64 Bit
• Updated virtual machine images for VMware Player, VMware ESX and VirtualBox

What is new in version 4.0:

• The design and the usability of the graphical administration interface Univention Management Console were completely revamped. By using a responsive design, Univention Management Console provides improved compatibility for tablets and smartphones.
• In addition to local virtualization servers, the UCS Virtual Machine Manger (UVMM) can now also manage OpenStack or Amazon EC2 environments. This allows the setup of hybrid cloud scenarios out-of-the-box with UCS.
• UCS 4.0 is based on Debian GNU/Linux 7.7 (Wheezy). More than 16,000 source packages were updated. Selected core components, e.g. OpenLDAP (2.4.40), Samba (4.2rc2) or the Linux kernel (3.16) are more recent in UCS compared to Debian GNU/Linux 7.7.
• The installation of UCS has been simplified significantly. The base installation is now done using the Debian installer and it is concluded with a web-based configuration of the system. The same, web-based system is also used for the manual configuration of cloud images or other appliances.
• The performance of the OpenLDAP directory service has been significantly improved. By default the memory-mapped storage backend (MDB) is now used when installing UCS.
• The management of applications in the UCS domain has been simplified through a centralised App Center. This allows the installation of applications in the entire domain from a single system.
• UCS now also supports the installation on systems using UEFI SecureBoot.

What is new in version 3.2-4:

• Improvement for the operation of UCS in Microsoft Windows Active Directory domains
• Improvement for the migration of Active Directory to UCS
• Increased security in UCS by activating perfect forward secrecy by default and using SHA256 as default hash

What is new in version 4.0 RC:

• The release candidate aims at channel partners, technology partners and interested parties, who want to take a first glance at the upcoming release of Univention Corporate Server (UCS). It includes support for UEFI Secure Boot, the central App Center for the comfortable App administration, further improvements of the responsive design of the completely redesigned graphic interface of the UCS management system especially concerning smartphones and the updated packages from Debian 7.7.
• The release candidate of UCS 4.0 is available as DVD-ISO for amd64. The installed system is configured to retrieve package updates from testing.univention.de. It allows to easily follow the development of UCS 4.0 by just updating the packages. The release candidate is meant exclusively for testing purposes rather than production use.

What is new in version 4.0 Milestone 2:

• It already includes a preview of the completely redesigned Univention Management Console, the web-based graphical interface of UCS' infrastructure management system, with the aim to improve overall usability. It also includes a connection with OpenStack and Amazon EC2 to manage hybrid clouds.
• The milestone aims at channel partners, technology partners and interested parties, who want to take a first glance at the upcoming release of Univention Corporate Server (UCS), which is planned for mid of November 2014.

What is new in version 3.2-3:

• The new module Active Directory Connection merges the domain administrated by UCS and an existing Active Directory. UCS is then available as a platform for the integrated operation of apps in an Active Directory domain.
• The UCS setup wizard has been completely overhauled and now guides users particularly comfortably through the domain configuration of UCS and detects, for example, configuration settings automatically and suggests useful defaults.
• PHP 5.4.4 has been back-ported to UCS 3.2. It can be installed from a separate repository and will receive security updates.
• The OpenLDAP replication has been improved significantly by tracking changes in the directory service with unique IDs. The replication performance has been improved and replication errors have been reduced.
• The Linux Kernel package has been updated to version 3.10.11. Besides many bug fixes, this improves the hardware support.
• The Active Directory compatibility has been improved. UCS now supports the Microsoft Data Protection Application Program Interface (DPAPI).

What is new in version 3.2-2:

• Domain joining of Windows clients with incorrect system times has been simplified; it is now no longer necessary to synchronise the system time in advance. In addition, password lockouts following unsuccessful login attempts are now also supported in Samba AD domains.
• Univention AD Takeover - the UCS solution for the automatic migration of an Active Directory domain to UCS - can now also be performed via a Univention Management Console module.
• The Univention App Center has been expanded further, for example: it is now also possible to provide applications which are not available for all processor architectures.
• The configuration of the access to WLAN networks via the RADIUS protocol can now be configured in the Univention Management Console thanks to the new Radius app.
• The Debian point update 6.0.9 has been integrated. It includes a wide range of bug fixes.

What is new in version 3.2-1:

• The Linux kernel package was updated to 3.10.26. Besides many bugfixes this also improves the hardware support.
• The Univention App Center was extended: Beside several bugfixes new interfaces are provided which improve the integration of third party applications.
• Univention AD Takeover - the UCS solution for the automatic migration of an Active Directory domain to UCS - was improved further; it now also support the migration of AD domains operated in languages other than English or German.
• Multiple usability enhancement in the Univention Management Console (UMC).

What is new in version 3.2:

• The operation of the Univention Management Console has been optimised and simplified in a number of points, e.g., there are now simplified wizards for creating users and internal system users are no longer shown in the basic setting. In addition, the Univention Management Console now offers single sign-on; logging in once allows users to access different UMC instances.
• SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language) is an XML-based standard for exchanging authentication information, which allows single sign-on across domain boundaries. UCS now provides a SAML identity provider: The external service (e.g., Salesforce) is then registered via a cryptographic certificate and trusted by the identity provider. The user then only needs to authenticate himself in UCS and can use the integrated service without renewed authentication.
• The Univention App Center has been expanded further and offers more extensive integration possibilities for third-parties (e.g., relations of apps and optional ordering of apps from the App Center). The standard UCS components are now also installed/removed via the App Center.
• Samba 4 has been updated to Version 4.1. SMB2 is used as the preferred protocol for file services instead of CIFS. The Univention S4 Connector has been considerably speeded up and the synchronization of groups improved.
• Bridges, bondings and VLANs can now also be configured in the Univention Management Console.
• The underlying Debian base has been updated to version 6.0.8; this imparts numerous improvements and bug fixes.
• The Linux kernel has been updated to 3.10.15.
• The management of shares has been simplified. NFSv4 is now also supported for NFS shares.
• Proxy authentication is now also possible via Kerberos.

What is new in version 3.1-1:

• Extensive improvements in Univention App Center and concerning the usability of the UCS management systems on mobile devices.
• Users can now provide direct feedback to Univention with a feedback button.
• An update of the Debian basis to the Debian 6.0.7 point update.
• An update to Samba 4.0.3.
• A pre-installed VMware image and VirtualBox image are now available for download.
• An update of Linux kernels to V3.2.39.
• New DVD ISO files for i386 and amd64.
• An update for the AMI Univention Corporate Server (UCS) 3.1 (official image) rev. 5 in Amazon's AWS.
• A new UMC module to view the configuration of Bridges, VLANs, and Bonding.

What is new in version 3.1:

• With the brand new Version 3.1, UCS has developed into a comprehensive operating and management platform for IT infrastructures in companies and authorities of all shapes and sizes. In contrast to single-server solutions, UCS also supports the operation of a large number of servers at several sites in a shared, secure trust context. As such, UCS 3.1 also permits the simple integration of cloud-based services. Consequently, UCS 3.1 offers organisations a high degree of flexibility in terms of the adaption of cloud strategies.
• New: Univention App Center: choose the applications, install them and run them:
• Particularly with the new Univention App Center, UCS offers excellent and easy-to-use possibilities for trying out applications on the cloud or in your own computer centre. The user sees immediately which applications are available in the App Center and can then simply install and uninstall them with a click of the mouse. In this way, UCS also represents a simple test possibility for new applications and makes it possible to expand existing environments with extra functions, for example from the fields of collaboration and CRM.
• In UCS 3.1, in addition to Univention solutions, such as the preview version of the new desktop and thin client product Univention Corporate Client (UCC) for now, the App Center also includes a range of third-party applications such as the groupware solutions Zarafa and Open-Xchange, the backup solution "SEP sesam", the document management system agorum core, the customer management
• solution "SugarCRM" and the Dropbox alternative "owncloud". According to Univention, other manufacturers are currently also working on making their software available in the Univention App Center. The App catalogue at: http://www.univention.de/en/products/ucs/app-catalogue-for-univention-corporate-server/ gives users an overview of all the applications currently available in the Univention App Center.
• New tool for simplified migration from Active Directory to Samba 4:
• In addition to a Samba 4 version far beyond the official release of Samba 4 approved two days ago, UCS 3.1 also boasts a new tool for simplified migration of existing Microsoft Active Directory environments to UCS. Among other features, this tool automatically adopts user and computer accounts as well as group policies from Microsoft Active Directory. This allows administrators to replace an existing Active Directory with UCS very easily and without the need to remount Microsoft Windows clients in the domain.
• User-friendly, simple network configuration and improved hardware support:
• The user interface of the UCS management systems for user and domain management has also been revised: administrators can now select individual management modules as favourites and in doing so easily personalise the UCS management tools.
• In addition to a wide range of additional updates to important UCS components, such as the virtualization software Xen or the directory service OpenLDAP, UCS 3.1 also features a new module for network configuration with which the network settings for virtualized guest operating systems in particular are now considerably simpler. The Linux kernel has been updated to Version 3.2.30 and UCS 3.1 now supports the BIOS successor UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface), which is a component of newer hardware.
• New documentation, prices and availability:
• UCS 3.1 is available as a DVD-ISO for i386 and amd64. Test versions can be downloaded from: http://www.univention.de/en/download-and-support/. Test systems can also be expanded to commercial UCS licenses without any problems. For 50 employees, Univention Corporate Server costs €985 with installation support and €1,885 with standard support - both versions include one year of maintenance.