[SASAG] OpenLDAP vs other directory services?

[Atom Powers]

I currently have a hacked-together OpenLDAP implementation and I'm
trying to decide if it's worth it to fix the current system or dump it
in favor of another directory service, such as one from RedHat,
Novelle, Sun, etc.

I need a directory service that can centralize all sorts of data on
students and faculty; everything from email addresses to parking tabs,
distribution groups to class registration, and more.

What are your experiences with directory services?
Are there any decent open source solutions that can tie together *nix and samba?

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Perfection is just a word I use occasionally with mustard.
--Atom Powers--