Hey everyone! I'm diving into the integration of our Linux systems with Active Directory as part of a new mandate from our CISO. We've got a blend of RHEL 7-9 and Oracle Unbreakable Linux, and they've traditionally been kept separate from AD, without any centralized authentication. Now, we need to bring everything into the AD and multi-factor authentication (MFA) fold. Given it's 2025, are there major pitfalls or important considerations for joining these Linux systems to the AD realm? Also, is it feasible to ask the Windows team to create an Organizational Unit (OU) for our machines? Additionally, I'd love to hear from anyone who has experience with Identity Management (iDM) while using RSA tokens or YubiKeys.
5 Answers
Keep in mind that when integrating Oracle with AD, avoid making any AD schema changes directly with Oracle’s guidance as it could lead to security risks. It's better to use keytabs for authentication. Many contractors aren't fully aware of the best practices regarding this integration, often leading to less secure setups.
Linux and Active Directory can work together, but you'll need to implement MFA on the servers themselves. Windows typically integrates much more seamlessly with AD compared to Linux. Unfortunately, MFA support in AD is limited, requiring some third-party solutions to get it working properly. Smart card logins are highly recommended for secure environments, and you can set up your Linux servers to require a second factor for authentication, like RADIUS.
One option is to set up a one-way trust from Red Hat Identity Manager to Active Directory. It might save you some headaches later—consider scheduling regular support sessions to address any issues that pop up!
In my experience, joining RHEL boxes to AD has gone smoothly over the years, primarily using Samba. Pulling in users and groups for permissions is straightforward and not overly complex if that’s all you need!
I worked in a place with a ton of Linux boxes bound to AD, and tools like SSSD and realm make it really easy for users to log in with AD credentials. Just remember to ensure each user has a unique Linux user ID to avoid issues in multi-user environments. When it comes to file shares, integrating Samba and Winbind can be tricky; I had to deal with some flaky issues that required constant monitoring. For MFA, we handled that at the VDI level to streamline the process.
Definitely check Oracle’s official docs for detailed integration instructions. Using Kerberos or PKI with Active Directory avoids the need for unnecessary schema changes.