Chapter 2. Enabling members of a group to back up Directory Server and performing the backup as one of the group members
You can configure that members of a group have permissions to back up an instance and perform the backup. This increases the security because you no longer need to set the credentials of cn=Directory Manager in your backup script or cron jobs. Additionally, you can easily grant and revoke the backup permissions by modifying the group.
2.1. Enabling a group to back up Directory Server
Use this procedure to add the cn=backup_users,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com group and enable members of this group to create backup tasks.
Prerequisites
-
The entry
ou=groups,dc=example,dc=comexists in the database.
Procedure
Create the
cn=backup_users,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=comgroup:#
dsidm -D "cn=Directory manager" ldap://server.example.com -b "dc=example,dc=com" group create --cn backup_usersAdd an access control instruction (ACI) that allows members of the
cn=backup_users,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=comgroup to create backup tasks:#
ldapadd -D "cn=Directory Manager" -W -H ldap://server.example.comdn: cn=config changetype: modify add: aci aci: (target = "ldap:///cn=backup,cn=tasks,cn=config")(targetattr="*") (version 3.0 ; acl "permission: Allow backup_users group to create backup tasks" ; allow (add, read, search) groupdn = "ldap:///cn=backup_users,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com";) - add: aci aci: (target = "ldap:///cn=config")(targetattr = "nsslapd-bakdir || objectClass") (version 3.0 ; acl "permission: Allow backup_users group to access bakdir attribute" ; allow (read,search) groupdn = "ldap:///cn=backup_users,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com";)Create a user:
Create a user account:
#
dsidm -D "cn=Directory manager" ldap://server.example.com -b "dc=example,dc=com" user create --uid="example" --cn="example" --uidNumber="1000" --gidNumber="1000" --homeDirectory="/home/example/" --displayName="Example User"Set a password on the user account:
#
dsidm -D "cn=Directory manager" ldap://server.example.com -b "dc=example,dc=com" account reset_password "uid=example,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com" "password"
Add the
uid=example,ou=People,dc=example,dc=comuser to thecn=backup_users,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=comgroup:#
dsidm -D "cn=Directory manager" ldap://server.example.com -b "dc=example,dc=com" group add_member backup_users uid=example,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
Verification
Display the ACIs set on the
cn=configentry:#
ldapsearch -o ldif-wrap=no -LLLx -D "cn=directory manager" -W -H ldap://server.example.com -b cn=config aci=* aci -s basedn: cn=config aci: (target = "ldap:///cn=backup,cn=tasks,cn=config")(targetattr="*")(version 3.0 ; acl "permission: Allow backup_users group to create backup tasks" ; allow (add, read, search) groupdn = "ldap:///cn=backup_users,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com";) aci: (target = "ldap:///cn=config")(targetattr = "nsslapd-bakdir || objectClass")(version 3.0 ; acl "permission: Allow backup_users group to access bakdir attribute" ; allow (read,search) groupdn = "ldap:///cn=backup_users,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com";) ...
2.2. Performing a backup as a regular user
You can perform backups as a regular user instead of cn=Directory Manager.
Prerequisites
-
You enabled members of the
cn=backup_users,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=comgroup to perform backups. -
The user you use to perform the backup is a member of the
cn=backup_users,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=comgroup.
Procedure
Create a backup task using one of the following methods:
Using the
dsconf backup createcommand:#
dsconf -D "uid=example,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com" ldap://server.example.com backup createBy manually creating the task:
#
ldapadd -D "uid=example,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com" -W -H ldap://server.example.comdn: cn=backup-2021_07_23_12:55_00,cn=backup,cn=tasks,cn=config changetype: add objectClass: extensibleObject nsarchivedir: /var/lib/dirsrv/slapd-instance_name/bak/backup-2021_07_23_12:55_00 nsdatabasetype: ldbm database cn: backup-2021_07_23_12:55_00
Verification
Verify that the backup was created:
#
ls -l /var/lib/dirsrv/slapd-instance_name/bak/total 0 drwx------. 3 dirsrv dirsrv 108 Jul 23 12:55 backup-2021_07_23_12_55_00 ...
Additional resources
