LDAP is a powerful vendor-independent application protocol for access directory services. OpenLDAP is a free implementation of LDAP and is used over a network to manage and access a distributed directory service, which can be used for things like PC logins. OpenLDAP is widely used because it is cost-effective, OS independent, and flexible. While OpenLDAP is powerful, it is also complex.
I want to unravel the complexities of implementing OpenLDAP so that anyone with even a basic understanding of Linux and the command line can adopt this platform.
TO SEE: 40+ Open Source and Linux Terms You Should Know (Tech Republic Premium)
What do you need to install OpenLDAP on Ubuntu Server 22.04
I’ll be demonstrating on Ubuntu Server 22.04, so you’ll need a copy of that OS that runs on bare metal, as a virtual machine, or on a third-party cloud host. And you need a user with sudo rights.
Ready to make some LDAP magic?
How to install OpenLDAP
Install the software
The first thing to do is install the software. Log into your Ubuntu instance and issue the command:
sudo apt-get install slapd ldap-utils -y
During the installation you will be asked to create an administrator password, so be sure to type and verify when prompted.
How to Configure OpenLDAP
Configure slap
The first thing to do is configure slapd, which is handled by the command:
sudo dpkg-reconfigure slapd
These are the details you should answer and the answers you should give.
- Omit OpenLDAP server configuration: no
- DNS domain name: The domain name used for your OpenLDAP server, which is used to create the base DN (Distinguished Name).
- Organization name: The name of your organization
- Administrator password: This is the password you set during the OpenLDAP installation.
- Do you want the database to be deleted when slapd is deleted? no
- Move old database? Yes
- Allow LDAPv2 protocol? no
How to configure ldapd.conf
Open the necessary configuration file with the command:
sudo nano /etc/ldap/ldap.conf
In that file, look for the following line:
BASE dc=your-domain,dc=com
Change that line to reflect the domain you set during the slapd configuration. Also make sure that the URI line looks like this:
URI ldap://localhost
Save and close the file.
Before installing the LDAP Account Manager, we need to test if everything works as expected. To do this, give the command:
ldapsearch -x
At the bottom of the output you should see the following:
result: 0 success
The above line indicates that all is well.
How to install the LDAP account manager
Install the dependencies
First, let’s install the necessary dependencies with the command:
sudo apt-get install apache2 php-fpm php-imap php-mbstring php-mysql php-json php-curl php-zip php-xml php-bz2 php-intl php-gmp php-redis -y
Install LAM
Then install LAM with:
sudo apt-get install ldap-account-manager -y
Create a virtual host
We can now create a virtual host so that Apache knows about the site. Create the configuration file with the command:
sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/lam.conf
In that file, enter this code and make sure to edit the Server Name option:
Save and close the file.
Enable the site and reload Apache
Enable our virtual host configuration with the command:
sudo a2ensite lam.conf
Reload apache with:
sudo systemctl reload apache2
Delete the index file
Finally, delete the default index.html file containing:
sudo mv /var/www/html/index.html ~/
How to access LAM
Access the web interface
Open a web browser and point it to: http://SERVER/lam where SERVER is either the IP address or domain of the OpenLDAP hosting server. You should be greeted by the LAM login screen (Image A†
Image A
Configure the web interface
Click LAM Configuration in the top right corner and click Edit Server Profiles (Figure B†
Figure B
You will be prompted to enter the default profile password, which is: lamb† On the resulting page (Figure C), you must configure the Tree suffix under Tool Settings to match the domain you set during the slapd configuration.
Figure C
Scroll down to Security Settings and configure the same domain for List of valid users (Figure D) and make sure to change cn=Manager to cn=admin.
Figure D
Now scroll to the bottom of this page and change the LAM admin password.
Configure users
Click the Account Types tab and look for the Users and Groups sections, where you configure your domain in the LDAP suffix as your domain (Figure E†
Figure E
Click Save and you will be returned to the login window.
Log in with admin and the password you created for OpenLDAP during installation and you are all set to start working with OpenLDAP from the convenience of the LAM GUI.
Congratulations! You now have OpenLDAP up and running and ready to use.
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