Chapter 21. Using SSSD component from IdM to cache the autofs maps


The System Security Services Daemon (SSSD) is a system service to access remote service directories and authentication mechanisms. The data caching is useful in case of the slow network connection. To configure the SSSD service to cache the autofs map, follow the procedures below in this section.

21.1. Configuring SSSD to cache autofs maps

The SSSD service can be used to cache autofs maps stored on an IdM server without having to configure autofs to use the IdM server at all.

Prerequisites

  • The sssd package is installed.

Procedure

  1. Open the SSSD configuration file:

    # vim /etc/sssd/sssd.conf
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  2. Add the autofs service to the list of services handled by SSSD.

    [sssd]
    domains = ldap
    services = nss,pam,autofs
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  3. Create a new [autofs] section. You can leave this blank, because the default settings for an autofs service work with most infrastructures.

    [nss]
    
    [pam]
    
    [sudo]
    
    [autofs]
    
    [ssh]
    
    [pac]
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    For more information, see the sssd.conf man page on your system.

  4. Optional: Set a search base for the autofs entries. By default, this is the LDAP search base, but a subtree can be specified in the ldap_autofs_search_base parameter.

    [domain/EXAMPLE]
    
    ldap_search_base = "dc=example,dc=com"
    ldap_autofs_search_base = "ou=automount,dc=example,dc=com"
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  5. Restart SSSD service:

    # systemctl restart sssd.service
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  6. Check the /etc/nsswitch.conf file, so that SSSD is listed as a source for automount configuration:

    automount: sss files
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  7. Restart autofs service:

    # systemctl restart autofs.service
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  8. Test the configuration by listing a user’s /home directory, assuming there is a master map entry for /home:

    # ls /home/userName
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    If this does not mount the remote file system, check the /var/log/messages file for errors. If necessary, increase the debug level in the /etc/sysconfig/autofs file by setting the logging parameter to debug.

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