Symptoms

For those who prefer to let their keyboards do the work, rather than their mouse, or are running into problems joining AD via the SoftNAS GUI, ('Ajax Timeout' errors have been known to occur) it is possible to join your SoftNAS instance/VM to Active Directory via your command line interface.

Purpose

This article provides step by step instructions for joining your SoftNAS instance to Active Directory from within a CLI. 

Resolution

SSH into the SoftNAS instance/virtual machine in question. (Alternatively, it is possible to access the command shell from within your SoftNAS GUI, by navigating the Storage Administration pane, going to Settings, then clicking General System Settings. In the Webmin Panel that will open, expand Others, and Command Shell will be the first available option.)

Once connected with your instance (or within the internal command shell), run the following commands, to stop Samba and Winbindd services. These services must be stopped to prevent changes from being overwritten.

Once services have been stopped, a new Kerberos ticket-granting ticket must be added. Run the commands:

Next, run the "klist" command, which confirms the Active Directory information.

Next it is time to join your instance to Active Directory.

The username in question must have rights to create objects in AD and join objects to the domain. It is not case sensitive. If the above command fails, try the following:

Once your instance has successfully joined Active Directory, start the Samba and Winbindd services.

Next, the various connections need to be listed at least once so the GUI can read them later.

(to see trust) 

(to see all trust domains)

(to sync users)

(sync group os)

Remember to join both nodes of an HA cluster to AD if they are to work in unison.  Also check the Samba.conf file for any information pertaining to the AD join process, as it is a wealth of info.

Additional Information

Active Directory Configuration