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Chapter 10. Using Ansible to automate group membership in IdM

Using automatic group membership, you can assign users and hosts user groups and host groups automatically, based on their attributes. For example, you can:

  • Divide employees' user entries into groups based on the employees' manager, location, position or any other attribute. You can list all attributes by entering ipa user-add --help on the command-line.
  • Divide hosts into groups based on their class, location, or any other attribute. You can list all attributes by entering ipa host-add --help on the command-line.
  • Add all users or all hosts to a single global group.

You can use Ansible to automate the management of automatic group membership in RHEL Identity Management (IdM).

10.1. Using Ansible to ensure that an automember rule for an IdM user group is present

The following procedure describes how to use an Ansible playbook to ensure an automember rule for an RHEL Identity Management (IdM) group exists. In the example, the presence of an automember rule is ensured for the testing_group user group.

Prerequisites

  • The testing_group user group exists in IdM.

  • You have configured your Ansible control node to meet the following requirements:

    • You are using Ansible version 2.15 or later.
    • You have installed the freeipa.ansible_freeipa collection.
    • The example assumes that in the ~/MyPlaybooks/ directory, you have created an Ansible inventory file with the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) of the IdM server.
    • The example assumes that the secret.yml Ansible vault stores your ipaadmin_password and that you have access to a file that stores the password protecting the secret.yml file.
  • The target node, that is the node on which the freeipa.ansible_freeipa module is executed, is part of the IdM domain as an IdM client, server or replica.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to your ~/MyPlaybooks/ directory: 

    $ cd ~/MyPlaybooks/
    Copy to Clipboard

  2. Copy the automember-group-present.yml Ansible playbook file located in the /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections/freeipa/ansible_freeipa/playbooks/automember/ directory: 

    $ cp /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections/freeipa/ansible_freeipa/playbooks/automember/automember-group-present.yml automember-group-present-copy.yml
    Copy to Clipboard
  3. Open the automember-group-present-copy.yml file for editing.

  4. Adapt the file by setting the following variables in the freeipa.ansible_freeipa.ipaautomember task section:

    • Set the ipaadmin_password variable to the password of the IdM admin.
    • Set the name variable to testing_group.
    • Set the automember_type variable to group.
    • Ensure that the state variable is set to present.

    This is the modified Ansible playbook file for the current example: 

    ---
- name: Automember group present example
  hosts: ipaserver
  vars_files:
  - /home/user_name/MyPlaybooks/secret.yml
  tasks:
  - name: Ensure group automember rule admins is present
    freeipa.ansible_freeipa.ipaautomember:
      ipaadmin_password: "{{ ipaadmin_password }}"
      name: testing_group
      automember_type: group
      state: present
    Copy to Clipboard
  5. Save the file.

  6. Run the Ansible playbook. Specify the playbook file, the file storing the password protecting the secret.yml file, and the inventory file: 

    $ ansible-playbook --vault-password-file=password_file -v -i inventory automember-group-present-copy.yml
    Copy to Clipboard

10.2. Using Ansible to ensure that a specified condition is present in an IdM user group automember rule

The following procedure describes how to use an Ansible playbook to ensure that a specified condition exists in an automember rule for an RHEL Identity Management (IdM) group. In the example, the presence of a UID-related condition in the automember rule is ensured for the testing_group group. By specifying the .* condition, you ensure that all future IdM users automatically become members of the testing_group.

Prerequisites

  • The testing_group user group and automember user group rule exist in IdM.

  • You have configured your Ansible control node to meet the following requirements:

    • You are using Ansible version 2.15 or later.
    • You have installed the freeipa.ansible_freeipa collection.
    • The example assumes that in the ~/MyPlaybooks/ directory, you have created an Ansible inventory file with the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) of the IdM server.
    • The example assumes that the secret.yml Ansible vault stores your ipaadmin_password and that you have access to a file that stores the password protecting the secret.yml file.
  • The target node, that is the node on which the freeipa.ansible_freeipa module is executed, is part of the IdM domain as an IdM client, server or replica.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to your ~/MyPlaybooks/ directory: 

    $ cd ~/MyPlaybooks/
    Copy to Clipboard

  2. Copy the automember-hostgroup-rule-present.yml Ansible playbook file located in the /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections/freeipa/ansible_freeipa/playbooks/automember/ directory and name it, for example, automember-usergroup-rule-present.yml: 

    $ cp /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections/freeipa/ansible_freeipa/playbooks/automember/automember-hostgroup-rule-present.yml automember-usergroup-rule-present.yml
    Copy to Clipboard
  3. Open the automember-usergroup-rule-present.yml file for editing.

  4. Adapt the file by modifying the following parameters:

    • Rename the playbook to correspond to your use case, for example: Automember user group rule member present.
    • Rename the task to correspond to your use case, for example: Ensure an automember condition for a user group is present.

    • Set the following variables in the freeipa.ansible_freeipa.ipaautomember task section:

      • Set the ipaadmin_password variable to the password of the IdM admin.
      • Set the name variable to testing_group.
      • Set the automember_type variable to group.
      • Ensure that the state variable is set to present.
      • Ensure that the action variable is set to member.
      • Set the inclusive key variable to UID.
      • Set the inclusive expression variable to .*

    This is the modified Ansible playbook file for the current example: 

    ---
- name: Automember user group rule member present
  hosts: ipaserver
  vars_files:
  - /home/user_name/MyPlaybooks/secret.yml
  tasks:
  - name: Ensure an automember condition for a user group is present
    freeipa.ansible_freeipa.ipaautomember:
      ipaadmin_password: "{{ ipaadmin_password }}"
      name: testing_group
      automember_type: group
      state: present
      action: member
      inclusive:
        - key: UID
          expression: .*
    Copy to Clipboard
  5. Save the file.

  6. Run the Ansible playbook. Specify the playbook file, the file storing the password protecting the secret.yml file, and the inventory file: 

    $ ansible-playbook --vault-password-file=password_file -v -i inventory automember-usergroup-rule-present.yml
    Copy to Clipboard

Verification

  1. Log in as an IdM administrator. 

    $ kinit admin
    Copy to Clipboard

  2. Add a user, for example: 

    $ ipa user-add user101 --first user --last 101
-----------------------
Added user "user101"
-----------------------
  User login: user101
  First name: user
  Last name: 101
  ...
  Member of groups: ipausers, testing_group
  ...
    Copy to Clipboard

10.3. Using Ansible to ensure that a condition is absent from an IdM user group automember rule

The following procedure describes how to use an Ansible playbook to ensure a condition is absent from an automember rule for an RHEL Identity Management (IdM) group. In the example, the absence of a condition in the automember rule is ensured that specifies that users whose initials are dp should be included. The automember rule is applied to the testing_group group. By applying the condition, you ensure that no future IdM user whose initials are dp becomes a member of the testing_group.

Prerequisites

  • The testing_group user group and automember user group rule exist in IdM.

  • You have configured your Ansible control node to meet the following requirements:

    • You are using Ansible version 2.15 or later.
    • You have installed the freeipa.ansible_freeipa collection.
    • The example assumes that in the ~/MyPlaybooks/ directory, you have created an Ansible inventory file with the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) of the IdM server.
    • The example assumes that the secret.yml Ansible vault stores your ipaadmin_password and that you have access to a file that stores the password protecting the secret.yml file.
  • The target node, that is the node on which the freeipa.ansible_freeipa module is executed, is part of the IdM domain as an IdM client, server or replica.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to your ~/MyPlaybooks/ directory: 

    $ cd ~/MyPlaybooks/
    Copy to Clipboard

  2. Copy the automember-hostgroup-rule-absent.yml Ansible playbook file located in the /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections/freeipa/ansible_freeipa/playbooks/automember/ directory and name it, for example, automember-usergroup-rule-absent.yml: 

    $ cp /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections/freeipa/ansible_freeipa/playbooks/automember/automember-hostgroup-rule-absent.yml automember-usergroup-rule-absent.yml
    Copy to Clipboard
  3. Open the automember-usergroup-rule-absent.yml file for editing.

  4. Adapt the file by modifying the following parameters:

    • Rename the playbook to correspond to your use case, for example: Automember user group rule member absent.
    • Rename the task to correspond to your use case, for example: Ensure an automember condition for a user group is absent.

    • Set the following variables in the freeipa.ansible_freeipa.ipaautomember task section:

      • Set the ipaadmin_password variable to the password of the IdM admin.
      • Set the name variable to testing_group.
      • Set the automember_type variable to group.
      • Ensure that the state variable is set to absent.
      • Ensure that the action variable is set to member.
      • Set the inclusive key variable to initials.
      • Set the inclusive expression variable to dp.

    This is the modified Ansible playbook file for the current example: 

    ---
- name: Automember user group rule member absent
  hosts: ipaserver
  vars_files:
  - /home/user_name/MyPlaybooks/secret.yml
  tasks:
  - name: Ensure an automember condition for a user group is absent
    freeipa.ansible_freeipa.ipaautomember:
      ipaadmin_password: "{{ ipaadmin_password }}"
      name: testing_group
      automember_type: group
      state: absent
      action: member
      inclusive:
        - key: initials
          expression: dp
    Copy to Clipboard
  5. Save the file.

  6. Run the Ansible playbook. Specify the playbook file, the file storing the password protecting the secret.yml file, and the inventory file: 

    $ ansible-playbook --vault-password-file=password_file -v -i inventory automember-usergroup-rule-absent.yml
    Copy to Clipboard

Verification

  1. Log in as an IdM administrator. 

    $ kinit admin
    Copy to Clipboard

  2. View the automember group: 

    $ ipa automember-show --type=group testing_group
 Automember Rule: testing_group
    Copy to Clipboard

The absence of an Inclusive Regex: initials=dp entry in the output confirms that the testing_group automember rule does not contain the condition specified.

10.4. Using Ansible to ensure that an automember rule for an IdM user group is absent

The following procedure describes how to use an Ansible playbook to ensure an automember rule is absent for an RHEL Identity Management (IdM) group. In the example, the absence of an automember rule is ensured for the testing_group group.

Note

Deleting an automember rule also deletes all conditions associated with the rule. To remove only specific conditions from a rule, see Using Ansible to ensure that a condition is absent in an IdM user group automember rule.

Prerequisites

  • On the control node:

    • You are using Ansible version 2.15 or later.
    • You have installed the freeipa.ansible_freeipa collection.
    • The example assumes that in the ~/MyPlaybooks/ directory, you have created an Ansible inventory file with the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) of the IdM server.
    • The example assumes that the secret.yml Ansible vault stores your ipaadmin_password and that you have access to a file that stores the password protecting the secret.yml file.
  • The target node, that is the node on which the freeipa.ansible_freeipa module is executed, is part of the IdM domain as an IdM client, server or replica.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to your ~/MyPlaybooks/ directory: 

    $ cd ~/MyPlaybooks/
    Copy to Clipboard

  2. Copy the automember-group-absent.yml Ansible playbook file located in the /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections/freeipa/ansible_freeipa/playbooks/automember/ directory: 

    $ cp /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections/freeipa/ansible_freeipa/playbooks/automember/automember-group-absent.yml automember-group-absent-copy.yml
    Copy to Clipboard
  3. Open the automember-group-absent-copy.yml file for editing.

  4. Adapt the file by setting the following variables in the freeipa.ansible_freeipa.ipaautomember task section:

    • Set the ipaadmin_password variable to the password of the IdM admin.
    • Set the name variable to testing_group.
    • Set the automember_type variable to group.

    • Ensure that the state variable is set to absent.

      This is the modified Ansible playbook file for the current example: 

      ---
- name: Automember group absent example
  hosts: ipaserver
  vars_files:
  - /home/user_name/MyPlaybooks/secret.yml
  tasks:
  - name: Ensure group automember rule admins is absent
    freeipa.ansible_freeipa.ipaautomember:
      ipaadmin_password: "{{ ipaadmin_password }}"
      name: testing_group
      automember_type: group
      state: absent
      Copy to Clipboard
  5. Save the file.

  6. Run the Ansible playbook. Specify the playbook file, the file storing the password protecting the secret.yml file, and the inventory file: 

    $ ansible-playbook --vault-password-file=password_file -v -i inventory automember-group-absent.yml
    Copy to Clipboard

10.5. Using Ansible to ensure that a condition is present in an IdM host group automember rule

Follow this procedure to use Ansible to ensure that a condition is present in an IdM host group automember rule. The example describes how to ensure that hosts with the FQDN of .*.idm.example.com are members of the primary_dns_domain_hosts host group and hosts whose FQDN is .*.example.org are not members of the primary_dns_domain_hosts host group.

Prerequisites

  • The primary_dns_domain_hosts host group and automember host group rule exist in IdM.

  • You have configured your Ansible control node to meet the following requirements:

    • You are using Ansible version 2.15 or later.
    • You have installed the freeipa.ansible_freeipa collection.
    • The example assumes that in the ~/MyPlaybooks/ directory, you have created an Ansible inventory file with the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) of the IdM server.
    • The example assumes that the secret.yml Ansible vault stores your ipaadmin_password and that you have access to a file that stores the password protecting the secret.yml file.
  • The target node, that is the node on which the freeipa.ansible_freeipa module is executed, is part of the IdM domain as an IdM client, server or replica.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to your ~/MyPlaybooks/ directory: 

    $ cd ~/MyPlaybooks/
    Copy to Clipboard

  2. Copy the automember-hostgroup-rule-present.yml Ansible playbook file located in the /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections/freeipa/ansible_freeipa/playbooks/automember/ directory: 

    $ cp /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections/freeipa/ansible_freeipa/playbooks/automember/automember-hostgroup-rule-present.yml automember-hostgroup-rule-present-copy.yml
    Copy to Clipboard
  3. Open the automember-hostgroup-rule-present-copy.yml file for editing.

  4. Adapt the file by setting the following variables in the freeipa.ansible_freeipa.ipaautomember task section:

    • Set the ipaadmin_password variable to the password of the IdM admin.
    • Set the name variable to primary_dns_domain_hosts.
    • Set the automember_type variable to hostgroup.
    • Ensure that the state variable is set to present.
    • Ensure that the action variable is set to member.
    • Ensure that the inclusive key variable is set to fqdn.
    • Set the corresponding inclusive expression variable to .*.idm.example.com.
    • Set the exclusive key variable to fqdn.
    • Set the corresponding exclusive expression variable to .*.example.org.

    This is the modified Ansible playbook file for the current example: 

    ---
- name: Automember user group rule member present
  hosts: ipaserver
  vars_files:
  - /home/user_name/MyPlaybooks/secret.yml
  tasks:
  - name: Ensure an automember condition for a user group is present
    freeipa.ansible_freeipa.ipaautomember:
      ipaadmin_password: "{{ ipaadmin_password }}"
      name: primary_dns_domain_hosts
      automember_type: hostgroup
      state: present
      action: member
      inclusive:
        - key: fqdn
          expression: .*.idm.example.com
      exclusive:
        - key: fqdn
          expression: .*.example.org
    Copy to Clipboard
  5. Save the file.

  6. Run the Ansible playbook. Specify the playbook file, the file storing the password protecting the secret.yml file, and the inventory file: 

    $ ansible-playbook --vault-password-file=password_file -v -i inventory automember-hostgroup-rule-present-copy.yml
    Copy to Clipboard
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