OpenSUSE Network :: Network Login Starter - Set Up A Server - Centralized Username And Password

I'm new to networks and servers, been using Linux on the desktop for a while now but always relied on the company's IT guy for setting up everyting LAN-based.

Now I want to build up my home LAN, and want to do it with Linux. I've managed to set up LAMP and file share servers.

What I am looking for is information on what I need, and how to set up a server for the following tasks:Centralized Username and Password, that when the user logs into any one of the desktops in the LAN, it uses this for authentication

Something that allows this authentication to be utilized in other servers (file access, web access, router logging, etc.). Something to make it easier for continuing permissions from one service to another. e.g. I have IPCop filtering content, and it has provisions for tracking who is making which request if there is authentication going on. (optionally) to run a script for mounting Samba shares or mapped network drives so from one system to the next. For example, in whatever box somebody logs in, it mounts a server share ("smb://Myserver/users/<username>") to a local folder ("my_user_share").

So;user "fred" ="smb://Myserver/users/fred" and user "wilma" = "smb://Myserver/users/wilma" but both would find their respective one mounted under "~/my_user_share". This would be irrespective of which box they are loggin in with. If the server share location changes (new server/servername), I change it on the server so the next time they log in it points to the right place.

I guess it is similar to Window's Active Directory, though I'm not sure what it's called, how to configure it and what it is and is not capable of doing.