Speaker 1: Welcome through another deep dive. Today. We're tackling a really
Speaker 1: interesting and often pretty complex challenge in the world of computing.
Speaker 1: How do organizations actually manage who gets access to what,
Speaker 1: where and when, especially when they're running a mix of
Speaker 1: Linux and Windows systems. We're talking identity and access management
Speaker 1: really the keys to keeping your network secure, efficient, and,
Speaker 1: let's be honest, manageable. Our mission today is to kind
Speaker 1: of cut through that complexity, give you a clear roadmap,
Speaker 1: a shortcut maybe to understanding how these critical technologies fit together.
Speaker 2: Exactly in today's IT world, these hybrid setups are everywhere
Speaker 2: and having solid unified identity management. It's not just like
Speaker 2: a best practice anymore, it's absolutely essential. We're going to
Speaker 2: pull back the curtain a bit on the foundational pieces
Speaker 2: that let these different systems talk to each other, share information,
Speaker 2: and ultimately give users a smooth, secure experience. Get ready,
Speaker 2: because we're going to connect the dots, open, LDAP, SAMBA, free, IPA,
Speaker 2: see how they all link up to give you that
Speaker 2: bigger picture.
Speaker 1: Okay, so let's start foundation when we talk about these
Speaker 1: central directories for network resources like a smartphone, book for users,
Speaker 1: group devices, all that stuff. LDP always comes up for
Speaker 1: people who maybe hear the term or even use it.
Speaker 1: What's its core job and why is open LDP sort
Speaker 1: of the go to implementation right so?
Speaker 2: LDP itself the lightweight Directory Access Protocol. It's it's basically
Speaker 2: a standard open way to store and retrieve directory info.
Speaker 2: It's built for speed, especially for reading lots of data quickly.
Speaker 2: And open LDP well, that's the most popular free open
Speaker 2: source version of it. It's incredibly flexible, runs pretty much
Speaker 2: everywhere Linux, Windows, Mac os celearis unit it. Think of
Speaker 2: it like a central database, super efficient for storing user accounts, groups,
Speaker 2: network objects, things like that. The heart of it is
Speaker 2: the slap demon, the ld HOP server itself. Each bit
Speaker 2: of info and entry has attributes like a name, an email,
Speaker 2: and a unique ID called a distinguished name or DN.
Speaker 2: Clients talk to it using standard operations bind to authenticate,
Speaker 2: search to find things, AD delete, modify entries, use tools
Speaker 2: like l DOP search all the time just to check things.
Speaker 1: Okay, this central directory idea, this single source of truth.
Speaker 1: It sounds really powerful, very efficient, but you know, putting
Speaker 1: all your eggs in one basket like that immediately makes
Speaker 1: me think security If all that user info is in
Speaker 1: one spot. How do you lock it down? Because I
Speaker 1: understand basic LDAT can send stuff in plain text.
Speaker 2: Right, you've hit the nail on the head. Plain text
Speaker 2: absolutely not for sensitive data. That's why TLS transport layer
Speaker 2: security is well non negotiable. You have to secure those
Speaker 2: open LDAPP connections use TLS and x point five zero
Speaker 2: nine certificates encrypt everything going back and forth. There's also
Speaker 2: the start LS extension, which is quite neat and lets
Speaker 2: you upgrade a connection on the standard port three eighty
Speaker 2: nine to be encrypted.
Speaker 1: Ah, so you don't necessarily need a separate port just
Speaker 1: for security.
Speaker 2: Not always no, though you still need firewall rules. Of course.
Speaker 2: You need to open port three eighty nine for LDP
Speaker 2: and maybe six thirty six for LDPS, which is TLS
Speaker 2: right from the start. And then for really fine grained
Speaker 2: control inside the directory you use access control lists or
Speaker 2: ecls defined by old access parameters and open LDP. Think
Speaker 2: of old access as the detailed rulebook. It lets you
Speaker 2: say exactly who can read or write what, specific information
Speaker 2: down to tiny details, supergranular.
Speaker 1: Okay, so the directory itself is secure, encrypto traffic granular
Speaker 1: access controls that's a relief, but having the data swored
Speaker 1: safely is one thing. How does an actual Linux machine
Speaker 1: use this directory? When someone tries to log in via SSH,
Speaker 1: for instance? How does the OS not to check open LDP.
Speaker 2: That's the integration piece, and it's crucial. You essentially teach
Speaker 2: the Linux system Hey for user info, go ask that
Speaker 2: open LDP server. Two main players here PAM pluggable authentication modules.
Speaker 2: Think of PAM as the bouncer for services like SSH
Speaker 2: or pseudo. It handles the actual is this user legit
Speaker 2: check against LdpA? Okay?
Speaker 1: PAM checks the credentials.
Speaker 2: Then what Then there's NSS, the name Service switch. NSS
Speaker 2: is like the system's internal address book look up. It
Speaker 2: tells the system where to find user and group info.
Speaker 2: So when you type say if user name, nssays ah,
Speaker 2: check LDP for that user. This combo means you create
Speaker 2: a user once in open ldup and they can log
Speaker 2: into potentially hundreds of Linux machines. Huge win for SISSIG
Speaker 2: means no more creating accounts everywhere. Tools like off config
Speaker 2: can help streamline setting up PAM and NSS across different
Speaker 2: Linux or U and I like systems.
Speaker 1: Right, that makes sense so Linux systems are talking securely
Speaker 1: to open LDP for their authentication needs solved. But the
Speaker 1: elephant in the room for so many places Windows. You've
Speaker 1: got Windows clients, Windows servers. How do we get Linux
Speaker 1: and Windows to play nice identity wise share files? Are
Speaker 1: we stuck with totally separate worlds? Or is there a bridge?
Speaker 2: There is definitely a bridge, and its name is SAUMA.
Speaker 2: It's the classic open source tool that lets Linux servers
Speaker 2: act just like Windows file and print servers. It speaks
Speaker 2: the same language smbcifs and zambas come a long way.
Speaker 2: It's got keyparts dot smbd for the actual file and
Speaker 2: print sharing, dot med for net bios name stuff mostly
Speaker 2: for older compatibility, and win bind that one's really important
Speaker 2: for joining Windows domain.
Speaker 1: Okay, windbind for main integration. And there's specific ports involved too.
Speaker 2: Yeah, got another ports UDP one thirty seven and one
Speaker 2: thirty eight for net bios naming and browsing, and TCP
Speaker 2: ports one thirty nine and crucially four forty five for
Speaker 2: the main SMB service. The protocol itself has evolved to
Speaker 2: SMB one point zero was notoriously chatty, kind of slow,
Speaker 2: SMB two point zero and later versions are much much
Speaker 2: more efficient.
Speaker 1: What really blows my mind though, is how flexible Samba is. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's not just about basic file sharing anymore, is it.
Speaker 1: It could be a simple server and a work group. Sure,
Speaker 1: it can join a Windows domain like any Windows server,
Speaker 1: but some of four it could actually be an active
Speaker 1: directory domain controller for real. On Linux.
Speaker 2: That's the big one. Yes, some before can act as
Speaker 2: a fully fledged eighty DC. It's not just mimicking. It
Speaker 2: provides those core eighty services. Think authentication, viaker, burrows, group
Speaker 2: policy support, DNS integration, all things you'd expect from a
Speaker 2: Windows DC but running on a Linux bot.
Speaker 1: H Okay, the implications there that's huge for flexibility, maybe cost.
Speaker 2: Savings, absolutely huge flexibility, potential cost savings, and it allows
Speaker 2: for a more unified approach if you want open source
Speaker 2: but need that deep Windows integration. Now, if you want
Speaker 2: Samba to use your existing open lde for users, you
Speaker 2: can do that too. In the smb dot com file,
Speaker 2: you set PASDB back end exles l DAP SAM and
Speaker 2: security exils user this so sumba, hey for user passwords,
Speaker 2: go ask that open ldapi ser over there.
Speaker 1: So open LDF becomes the authentication source for Samba shares too.
Speaker 2: Exactly, and just like before, that connection between Samba and
Speaker 2: OPENLBB must be secured so you can figure things like LDAP,
Speaker 2: SSL start TLS. You point it to your TLS certificates,
Speaker 2: the tlscf file, tlss sert file, tlske file. Got to
Speaker 2: encrypt that traffic.
Speaker 3: It's really powerful. See in how these pieces connect. Linux
Speaker 3: uses LDPP locally, Samba lets Linux join the Windows party
Speaker 3: or even host the party as an ad DC, potentially
Speaker 3: using that same LDDAP back end, and tools like spunk
Speaker 3: client on Linux to access shares or test porm, DASHZV
Speaker 3: to check your Samba config must be life savers for admins. Okay,
Speaker 3: we've built up these components open LDP for the core directory,
Speaker 3: SABA handling the window side, but managing all these things
Speaker 3: separately LDP maybe a feporate, Carberos server, DNS keeping track
Speaker 3: of certificates with the CAA. That sounds like it could
Speaker 3: get messy, really fast, a lot to juggle. Is there
Speaker 3: a way to bring all these essential identity bits together
Speaker 3: under one roof a more integrated solution.
Speaker 2: That is precisely the problem free IPA was designed to solve.
Speaker 2: It is that integrated solution. Think of it as a
Speaker 2: comprehensive security information management system prepackaged. It cleverly bundles together
Speaker 2: critical open source projects into one cohesive whole. It uses
Speaker 2: the three eight nine directory server, a really robust ld
Speaker 2: app server under the hood. It includes MIT Courberos for
Speaker 2: strong authentication single sign on. It integrates MTP for timesync,
Speaker 2: vital for Carberos. It has built in DNS capabilities, and
Speaker 2: it uses dog tag as a full certificate authority for
Speaker 2: managing all your searts.
Speaker 1: It's like an all in one identity toolcase.
Speaker 2: Exactly and all in one identity solution. It massively simplifies
Speaker 2: the infrastructure and cuts down on the headache of managing
Speaker 2: all those separate parts.
Speaker 1: And the benefit for you, the listener, is it management
Speaker 1: becomes much more centralized. I hear free IPA has a
Speaker 1: nice WebUI, but also strong command line tools for managing users, groups, machines, everything.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, you get both a user friendly web interface for
Speaker 2: many common tasks and powerful IPA command line tools for
Speaker 2: scripting and more advanced stuff. Getting started involves yet getting
Speaker 2: an admin Curbero's kinnet admin and making sure the right
Speaker 2: firewall ports are open. HTTPS for the WebUI, LDAPS, Corbero, sports, DNS,
Speaker 2: NTP clients need to reach the server.
Speaker 1: And day to day user management adding users groups.
Speaker 2: Free IPA makes that pretty straightforward commands like IPA user ad,
Speaker 2: IPA group AD. There's even IPA stage user AD for
Speaker 2: setting up accounts ahead of time. But where it really
Speaker 2: shines is the fine grained access control. It uses a
Speaker 2: model of permissions like read write access. You bundle permissions
Speaker 2: into privileges and then you assign those privileges using roles.
Speaker 2: So you define roles like help desk admin or user
Speaker 2: admin and give them only the specific privileges they need.
Speaker 2: Very structured, and.
Speaker 1: It doesn't stop at users and groups, does it? I
Speaker 1: heard it integrates with other Linux services too, Like pseudo rules.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, deeply. You can manage your pseudo rules centrally
Speaker 2: in free IPA, define who can run what where as
Speaker 2: rude and push that policy out to all your managed hosts.
Speaker 2: Same for audoff's maps for automatic network shares, manage SSH
Speaker 2: public keys for user centrally, even SELinux user mappings.
Speaker 1: Wow.
Speaker 2: It means you define these policies once in free IPA
Speaker 2: and they apply consistently across your entire domain. There's even
Speaker 2: a command I pay advice that can spit out configuration
Speaker 2: steps for integrating various clients.
Speaker 1: Okay, free ipa sounds fantastic, especially if you're heavy on
Speaker 1: Linux or starting fresh. But what about the places and
Speaker 1: there are many that already have a big investment in
Speaker 1: Microsoft Active Directory. Are they just out of luck two
Speaker 1: separate identity systems forever?
Speaker 2: Or can free ipa actually talk to AD integrate somehow?
Speaker 1: That's arguably one of free IPA's killer features. It's specifically
Speaker 1: designed to establish trust relationships with active directory domains. This
Speaker 1: isn't just about existing side by side, it's about genuine
Speaker 1: interroper ability. It allows AD users to access resources in
Speaker 1: the free ipa domain, and free ipa users to access
Speaker 1: AD resources without needing separate accounts like true single sign
Speaker 1: on across domains.
Speaker 2: Exactly, no duplicate accounts, no needing to log in again.
Speaker 2: Imagine an AD user accessing a Linux web server managed
Speaker 2: by free ipa using their normal Windows credentials. That's the goal.
Speaker 2: It's a massive win for hybrid environments.
Speaker 1: That seamless access sounds incredible. Setting up that kind of trust, though,
Speaker 1: feels like it might be tricky. What are the main steps?
Speaker 2: There are a few key steps. Yes, you need to
Speaker 2: install an extra package on the free IPA server IPA
Speaker 2: server trust AD. Then you run a command iPad AD
Speaker 2: trust install. This basically prepares the free IPA server, sets
Speaker 2: up the necessary SOMBA components within free IPA to handle
Speaker 2: the AD side of the trust, and finally you establish
Speaker 2: the trust itself using IPA trust AD, pointing it to
Speaker 2: the AD realm and providing AD admin credentials to authorize it.
Speaker 1: Okay, so you install, prepare, then a stade aublish the trust.
Speaker 1: What absolutely has to be right for this to work?
Speaker 1: The prerequisite some kissing time sink is critical. Again, you
Speaker 1: guessed it.
Speaker 2: Time synchronization is non negotiable. Curberos, which underpins this whole thing,
Speaker 2: breaks if the time is off between free IPA and
Speaker 2: the AD controllers, even by a few minutes. Proper DNS
Speaker 2: is also vital. Each side needs to be able to
Speaker 2: resolve names and service records like SRV records for Courberos
Speaker 2: and LDAM in the other domain. Usually involves setting up
Speaker 2: DNS forwarders, and critically, you need to exchange Certificate Authority
Speaker 2: CA certificates. The free IPACA certain needs to be trusted
Speaker 2: by AD and the ADCA certain needs to be trusted
Speaker 2: by Free IPA.
Speaker 1: Why the certificate exchange.
Speaker 2: It's for secure communication, primarily secure ldf ldaps. The trust
Speaker 2: relies on secure lookups between the domains, so that certificate
Speaker 2: trust is essential to encrypt and verify those connections.
Speaker 1: Got it time DNS CERTs nail those down, so once
Speaker 1: the trust is up. What does this integration actually look
Speaker 1: like day to day? For an admin or a.
Speaker 2: User, it feels remarkably unified. Free IPA automatically assigns ID
Speaker 2: ranges for the trusted ad users in groups, so they
Speaker 2: have unique IDs within the free IPA space. Then you
Speaker 2: can create what free IPA calls external groups. You basically
Speaker 2: reference an AD group within free ipa, and you can
Speaker 2: assign permissions and roles to that external group just like
Speaker 2: a native free IPA. So you can grant an entire
Speaker 2: AD group access to a Linux resource managed by free ipa.
Speaker 1: All managed from free IPA.
Speaker 2: Mostly. Yes, you manage the AD users in AD, but
Speaker 2: you manage their access to free IPA resources within free ipa,
Speaker 2: often by using those external groups. There's even a passing
Speaker 2: plug in for Windows dcs that can synchronize password changes
Speaker 2: from AD to free IPA, making the user experience even smoother,
Speaker 2: and you can verify it all works commands like a
Speaker 2: deducer at ADY domain on a free IPA client should
Speaker 2: resolve the AD user dot ip group show on an
Speaker 2: external group shows the eight members. It really does bridge
Speaker 2: the two worlds.
Speaker 1: What an incredible journey we've taken, seriously through this whole
Speaker 1: landscape of network identity and access. We start with open
Speaker 1: LDP as that fundamental flexible directory, move to Samba, the
Speaker 1: crucial bridge, to Windows which can even amazingly act as
Speaker 1: an ad DC, and then land it on free IPA,
Speaker 1: this unified modern powerhouse that pulls it all together and
Speaker 1: can even build robust trust relationships with existing AD setups.
Speaker 1: The value here centralizing identity access for security efficiency to
Speaker 1: simplifying administration. It's hard to overstate how important that is.
Speaker 2: Indeed, and hopefully by understanding these core pieces Open LDPS, Samba,
Speaker 2: Free IPA and how they interact, especially with the AD trust,
Speaker 2: you the listener gained the insight needed insight to design,
Speaker 2: build and manage networks that are resilient, cross platform and
Speaker 2: really meet the complex demands of today's it, whether that's
Speaker 2: on prem cloud or hybrid, it gives.
Speaker 1: You control absolutely So if you wrap up listening or
Speaker 1: go about your day, here's a little something to chew on.
Speaker 1: A provocative thought. Maybe in this world it's only getting
Speaker 1: more interconnected, diverse systems, tons of cloud services, maybe even
Speaker 1: things like decentralized I identity on the horizon. How will
Speaker 1: these principles of unified identity and access keep evolving? How
Speaker 1: will they simplify our digital lives even more? What new bridges,
Speaker 1: what new integrated solutions will we need to build for
Speaker 1: the identities of tomorrow? Keep exploring