Chapter 27. Installing an Identity Management replica using an Ansible playbook

Procedure

1. Open the inventory file for editing. Specify the fully-qualified domain names (FQDN) of the hosts to become IdM replicas. The FQDNs must be valid DNS names:

   • Only numbers, alphabetic characters, and hyphens (-) are allowed. For example, underscores are not allowed and can cause DNS failures.

   • The host name must be all lower-case.

     Example of a simple inventory hosts file with only the replicas' FQDN defined

     [ipareplicas]
     replica1.idm.example.com
     replica2.idm.example.com
     replica3.idm.example.com
     [...]

     Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

     If the IdM server is already deployed and the SRV records are set properly in the IdM DNS zone, the script automatically discovers all the other required values.

2. Optional: Provide additional information in the inventory file based on how you have designed your topology:

   Scenario 1

   If you want to avoid autodiscovery and have all replicas listed in the [ipareplicas] section use a specific IdM server, set the server in the [ipaservers] section of the inventory file.

   Example inventory hosts file with the FQDN of the IdM server and replicas defined

   [ipaservers]
   server.idm.example.com
   
   [ipareplicas]
   replica1.idm.example.com
   replica2.idm.example.com
   replica3.idm.example.com
   [...]

   Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

   Scenario 2

   Alternatively, if you want to avoid autodiscovery but want to deploy specific replicas with specific servers, set the servers for specific replicas individually in the [ipareplicas] section in the inventory file.

   Example inventory file with a specific IdM server defined for a specific replica

   [ipaservers]
   server.idm.example.com
   replica1.idm.example.com
   
   [ipareplicas]
   replica2.idm.example.com
   replica3.idm.example.com ipareplica_servers=replica1.idm.example.com

   Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

   In the example above, replica3.idm.example.com uses the already deployed replica1.idm.example.com as its replication source.

   Scenario 3

   If you are deploying several replicas in one batch and time is a concern to you, multitier replica deployment can be useful for you. Define specific groups of replicas in the inventory file, for example [ipareplicas_tier1] and [ipareplicas_tier2], and design separate plays for each group in the install-replica.yml playbook.

   Example inventory file with replica tiers defined

   [ipaservers]
   server.idm.example.com
   
   [ipareplicas_tier1]
   replica1.idm.example.com
   
   [ipareplicas_tier2]
   replica2.idm.example.com \ ipareplica_servers=replica1.idm.example.com,server.idm.example.com

   Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

   The first entry in ipareplica_servers will be used. The second entry will be used as a fallback option. When using multiple tiers for deploying IdM replicas, you must have separate tasks in the playbook to first deploy replicas from tier1 and then replicas from tier2:

   Example of a playbook file with different plays for different replica groups

   ---
   - name: Playbook to configure IPA replicas (tier1)
     hosts: ipareplicas_tier1
     become: true
   
     roles:
     - role: ipareplica
       state: present
   
   - name: Playbook to configure IPA replicas (tier2)
     hosts: ipareplicas_tier2
     become: true
   
     roles:
     - role: ipareplica
       state: present

   Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

3. Optional: Provide additional information regarding firewalld and DNS:

   Scenario 1

   If you want the replica to use a specified firewalld zone, for example an internal one, you can specify it in the inventory file. If you do not set a custom zone, IdM will add its services to the default firewalld zone. The predefined default zone is public.

   Important

   The specified firewalld zone must exist and be permanent.

   Example of a simple inventory hosts file with a custom firewalld zone

   [ipaservers]
   server.idm.example.com
   
   [ipareplicas]
   replica1.idm.example.com
   replica2.idm.example.com
   replica3.idm.example.com
   [...]
   
   [ipareplicas:vars]
   ipareplica_firewalld_zone=custom zone

   Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

   Scenario 2

   If you want the replica to host the IdM DNS service, add the ipareplica_setup_dns=true line to the [ipareplicas:vars] section. Additionally, specify if you want to use per-server DNS forwarders:

   • To configure per-server forwarders, add the ipareplica_forwarders variable and a list of strings to the [ipareplicas:vars] section, for example: ipareplica_forwarders=192.0.2.1,192.0.2.2
   • To configure no per-server forwarders, add the following line to the [ipareplicas:vars] section: ipareplica_no_forwarders=true.
   • To configure per-server forwarders based on the forwarders listed in the /etc/resolv.conf file of the replica, add the ipareplica_auto_forwarders variable to the [ipareplicas:vars] section.

   Example inventory file with instructions to set up DNS and per-server forwarders on the replicas

   [ipaservers]
   server.idm.example.com
   
   [ipareplicas]
   replica1.idm.example.com
   replica2.idm.example.com
   replica3.idm.example.com
   [...]
   
   [ipareplicas:vars]
   ipareplica_setup_dns=true
   ipareplica_forwarders=192.0.2.1,192.0.2.2

   Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

   Scenario 3

   Specify the DNS resolver using the ipaclient_configure_dns_resolve and ipaclient_dns_servers options (if available) to simplify cluster deployments. This is especially useful if your IdM deployment is using integrated DNS:

   An inventory file snippet specifying a DNS resolver:

   [...]
   [ipaclient:vars]
   ipaclient_configure_dns_resolver=true
   ipaclient_dns_servers=192.168.100.1

   Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

   Note

   The ipaclient_dns_servers list must contain only IP addresses. Host names are not allowed.

Procedure

1. Specify the password of a user authorized to deploy replicas, for example the IdM admin.

   • Use the Ansible Vault to store the password, and reference the Vault file from the playbook file, for example install-replica.yml:

     Example playbook file using principal from inventory file and password from an Ansible Vault file

     - name: Playbook to configure IPA replicas
       hosts: ipareplicas
       become: true
       vars_files:
       - playbook_sensitive_data.yml
     
       roles:
       - role: ipareplica
         state: present

     Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

     For details how to use Ansible Vault, see the official Ansible Vault documentation.

   • Less securely, provide the credentials of admin directly in the inventory file. Use the ipaadmin_password option in the [ipareplicas:vars] section of the inventory file. The inventory file and the install-replica.yml playbook file can then look as follows:

     Example inventory hosts.replica file

     [...]
     [ipareplicas:vars]
     ipaadmin_password=Secret123

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     Example playbook using principal and password from inventory file

     - name: Playbook to configure IPA replicas
       hosts: ipareplicas
       become: true
     
       roles:
       - role: ipareplica
         state: present

     Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

   • Alternatively but also less securely, provide the credentials of another user authorized to deploy a replica directly in the inventory file. To specify a different authorized user, use the ipaadmin_principal option for the user name, and the ipaadmin_password option for the password. The inventory file and the install-replica.yml playbook file can then look as follows:

     Example inventory hosts.replica file

     [...]
     [ipareplicas:vars]
     ipaadmin_principal=my_admin
     ipaadmin_password=my_admin_secret123

     Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

     Example playbook using principal and password from inventory file

     - name: Playbook to configure IPA replicas
       hosts: ipareplicas
       become: true
     
       roles:
       - role: ipareplica
         state: present

     Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap