OpenLDAP is an open-source implementation of the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). It provides a powerful and flexible way to manage user accounts, groups, and permissions. In this tutorial, we will walk through the steps to install OpenLDAP on Ubuntu Server Latest.
Before we begin, let's make sure our Ubuntu Server is up to date:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
To install OpenLDAP on Ubuntu, run the following command:
sudo apt-get install slapd ldap-utils
During the installation, you will be prompted to set up a new admin password for OpenLDAP. Make sure to remember this password as we will need it later.
We need to configure OpenLDAP by creating a new database and adding our LDAP schema. We will use the configuration file /etc/ldap/ldap.conf to set some global options. Open this file using your favorite text editor:
sudo nano /etc/ldap/ldap.conf
Add the following lines to the end of the file:
BASE dc=example,dc=com
URI ldap://127.0.0.1
Replace dc=example,dc=com with your own domain name.
Next, we need to create a new database. Run the following command:
sudo ldapadd -Y EXTERNAL -H ldapi:/// -f /etc/ldap/schema/cosine.ldif
sudo ldapadd -Y EXTERNAL -H ldapi:/// -f /etc/ldap/schema/nis.ldif
sudo ldapadd -Y EXTERNAL -H ldapi:/// -f /etc/ldap/schema/inetorgperson.ldif
These commands add necessary schema files to our OpenLDAP installation.
We can now add new users to OpenLDAP. Create a new file called base.ldif:
sudo nano base.ldif
Add the following lines to the file:
dn: dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: top
objectClass: dcObject
objectclass: organization
o: Example Company
dc: example
dn: ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: organizationalUnit
ou: people
dn: ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: organizationalUnit
ou: groups
Save and close the file. Now let's add the users. Create another file called users.ldif:
sudo nano users.ldif
Add the following lines to the file:
dn: uid=john,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: top
objectClass: account
objectClass: posixAccount
objectClass: shadowAccount
uid: john
cn: John Doe
uidNumber: 10000
gidNumber: 10000
homeDirectory: /home/john
loginShell: /bin/bash
gecos: John Doe
userPassword: {CRYPT}x
dn: uid=jane,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: top
objectClass: account
objectClass: posixAccount
objectClass: shadowAccount
uid: jane
cn: Jane Doe
uidNumber: 10001
gidNumber: 10000
homeDirectory: /home/jane
loginShell: /bin/bash
gecos: Jane Doe
userPassword: {CRYPT}x
Replace {CRYPT}x with the encrypted password for the user. You can use the following command to generate an encrypted password:
slappasswd -h {CRYPT}
Save and close the file.
Now we can add the files to OpenLDAP:
sudo ldapadd -x -D cn=admin,dc=example,dc=com -W -f base.ldif
sudo ldapadd -x -D cn=admin,dc=example,dc=com -W -f users.ldif
You will be prompted for the OpenLDAP admin password you set during installation.
We can verify that our users have been added correctly by running the following command:
ldapsearch -x -b "dc=example,dc=com"
You should see the entries we added in the output.
Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured OpenLDAP on Ubuntu Server Latest. You can now use OpenLDAP to manage user accounts, groups, and permissions.
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