Chapter 5. Installing Directory Server with Kerberos authentication behind a load balancer
Installing Directory Server instances that work behind a load balancer and support Kerberos authentication require additional steps compared during the installation.
If a user accesses a service using Generic Security Services API (GSSAPI), the Kerberos principal includes the DNS name of the service’s host. In case the user connects to a load balancer, the principal contains the DNS name of the load balancer, for example: ldap/loadbalancer.example.com@EXAMPLE.COM
, and not the DNS name of the Directory Server instance.
To facilitate successful connection, the Directory Server instance that receives the request must use the same name as the load balancer, even if the load balancer DNS name is different.
This section describes how to set up an Directory Server instance with Kerberos authentication support behind a load balancer.
5.1. Prerequisites
- The server meets the requirements of the latest Red Hat Directory Server version as described in the Red Hat Directory Server 12 Release Notes.
5.2. Installing the Directory Server packages
Use the following procedure to install the Directory Server packages.
Prerequisites
- You registered the system to the Red Hat subscription management service.
- You have a valid Red Hat Directory Server subscription in your Red Hat account.
-
The RHEL default repositories,
BaseOS
andAppStream
, are enabled.
Procedure
List the available subscriptions in your Red Hat account that provide a Red Hat Directory Server subscription, and note the pool ID:
# subscription-manager list --all --available --matches 'Red Hat Directory Server' ... Subscription Name: Example Subscription Provides: ... Red Hat Directory Server ... Pool ID: 5ab6a8df96b03fd30aba9a9c58da57a1 Available: 1 ...
Attach the Red Hat Directory Server subscription to the system using the its pool ID:
# subscription-manager attach --pool=5ab6a8df96b03fd30aba9a9c58da57a1 Successfully attached a subscription for: Example Subscription
Enable the
dirsrv-12-for-rhel-9-x86_64-rpms
repository:# subscription-manager repos --enable=dirsrv-12-for-rhel-9-x86_64-rpms Repository 'dirsrv-12-for-rhel-9-x86_64-rpms' is enabled for this system.
Install the
redhat-ds:12
module:# dnf module install redhat-ds:12
This command automatically installs all required dependencies.
Additional resources
5.3. Creating a .inf file for a Directory Server instance installation
Create a .inf
file for the dscreate
utility, and adjust the file to your environment. In a later step, you will use this file to create the new Directory Server instance.
Prerequisites
-
You installed the
redhat-ds:12
module.
Procedure
Use the
dscreate create-template
command to create a template.inf
file. For example, to store the template in the/root/instance_name.inf
file, enter:# dscreate create-template /root/instance_name.inf
The created file contains all available parameters including descriptions.
Edit the file that you created in the previous step:
Uncomment the parameters that you want to set to customize the installation.
All parameters have defaults. However, Red Hat recommends that you customize certain parameters for a production environment. For example, set at least the following parameters in the
[slapd]
section:instance_name = instance_name root_password = password
To use the instance behind a load balancer with GSSAPI authentication, set the
full_machine_name
parameter in the[general]
section to the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) of the load balancer instead of the FQDN of the Directory Server host:full_machine_name = loadbalancer.example.com
Uncomment the
strict_host_checking
parameter in the[general]
section and set it toFalse
:strict_host_checking = False
To automatically create a suffix during instance creation, set the following parameters in the
[backend-userroot]
section:create_suffix_entry = True suffix = dc=example,dc=com
ImportantIf you do not create a suffix during instance creation, you must create it later manually before you can store data in this instance.
Optional: Uncomment other parameters and set them to appropriate values for your environment. For example, use these parameters to specify replication options, such as authentication credentials and changelog trimming, or set different ports for the LDAP and LDAPS protocols.
NoteBy default, new instances that you create include a self-signed certificate and TLS enabled. For increased security, Red Hat recommends that you do not disable this feature. Note that you can replace the self-signed certificate with a certificate issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) at a later date.
Additional resources
5.4. Using a .inf file to set up a new Directory Server instance
This section describes how to use a .inf
file to set up a new Directory Server instance using the command line.
Prerequisites
-
You created a
.inf
file for the Directory Server instance.
Procedure
Pass the
.inf
file to thedscreate from-file
command to create the new instance:# dscreate from-file /root/instance_name.inf Starting installation ... Validate installation settings ... Create file system structures ... Create self-signed certificate database ... Perform SELinux labeling ... Perform post-installation tasks ... Completed installation for instance: slapd-instance_name
The
dscreate
utility automatically starts the instance and configures RHEL to start the service when the system boots.Open the required ports in the firewall:
# firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port={389/tcp,636/tcp}
Reload the firewall configuration:
# firewall-cmd --reload
5.5. Creating a keytab for the load balancer and configuring Directory Server to use the keytab
Before user can authenticate to Directory Server behind a load balancer using GSSAPI, you must create a Kerberos principal for the load balancer and configure Directory Server to use the Kerberos principal. This section describes this procedure.
Prerequisites
An instance that contains the following
.inf
file configuration:-
The
full_machine_name
parameter set to the DNS name of the load balancer. -
The
strict_host_checking
parameter set toFalse
.
-
The
Procedure
-
Create the Kerberos principal for the load balancer, for example
ldap/loadbalancer.example.com_@_EXAMPLE.COM
. The procedure to create the service principal depends on your Kerberos installation. For details, see your Kerberos server’s documentation. -
Optional: You can add further principals to the keytab file. For example, to enable users to connect to the Directory Server instance behind the load balancer directly using Kerberos authentication, add additional principals for the Directory Server host. For example,
ldap/server1.example.com@EXAMPLE.COM
. -
Copy the service keytab file to the Directory Server host, and store it, for example, in the
/etc/dirsrv/slapd-instance_name/ldap.keytab
file. Add the path to the service keytab to the
/etc/sysconfig/slapd-instance_name
file:KRB5_KTNAME=/etc/dirsrv/slapd-instance_name/ldap.keytab
Restart the Directory Server instance:
# dsctl instance_name restart
Verification
Verify that you can connect to the load balancer using the GSSAPI protocol:
# ldapsearch -H ldap://loadbalancer.example.com -Y GSSAPI
If you added additional Kerberos principals to the keytab file, such as for the Directory Server host itself, also verify these connections:
# ldapsearch -H ldap://server1.example.com -Y GSSAPI