Hey everyone! I'm diving into some Systems Administration work after helping out with Ansible automation, and it seems like my workload has suddenly increased. We're currently managing a mix of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (versions 7-9) and Oracle Unbreakable systems, which until now haven't integrated with Active Directory or centralized authentication. With our CISO's new directive to transition everything to Active Directory and implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), I'm curious about the potential challenges or important details I should keep in mind when joining these systems to a domain. Is it as straightforward as asking the Windows team to create an Organizational Unit (OU) for our Linux machines? Also, has anyone had experience using identity management with tools like RSA tokens or YubiKeys? I'd appreciate any insights!
5 Answers
Joining RHEL 6-8 to AD has been smooth sailing for me over the past 15 years using Samba. It's pretty straightforward if you keep it simple, like just pulling users and groups for permissions without complex setups.
I've worked at a company where we had thousands of Linux machines hooked up to AD. Using SSSD, realm, and adcli worked great for logging in with AD credentials. You might want to ensure that there’s a system in place for syncing user IDs from AD to avoid conflicts in a multi-user environment. Samba for SMB file shares can be a hassle, though; I encountered multiple issues that required constant monitoring and troubleshooting.
When dealing with Oracle integrations, you definitely want to avoid making schema changes in AD. They have a habit of storing passwords in an encrypted format directly in the schema, which raises some serious security concerns. It’s better to use keytabs, but beware, as the bigger your Oracle scale, the more complications you'll run into. A lot of contractors might not know the best practices, so proceed with caution!
One approach is to set up a one-way trust from Red Hat Identity Manager to Active Directory. Just be prepared to block out some time in your calendar for the inevitable support issues that may pop up.
Yeah, support can be a bit of a headache. It’s crucial to stay on top of those integrations!
Absolutely, Linux can play nicely with AD, but MFA integration often requires some additional work. Windows systems integrate seamlessly with AD, but Linux sometimes lags behind. You can set up AD as the first authentication step and then configure your Linux servers to use something like RADIUS for a second factor. Just be prepared for a bit of tweaking to get everything secure and functioning smoothly.
Totally agree! Keeping that schema secure is crucial. It's essential to look into proper documentation before proceeding.