Chapter 26. 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
     [...]

     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
   [...]

   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

   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

   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

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

   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

   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

   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.

   • Red Hat recommends using the Ansible Vault to store the password, and referencing 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

     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

     Example playbook using principal and password from inventory file

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

   • 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

     Example playbook using principal and password from inventory file

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