How I Build My Home Lab using Open Source Technologies

Introduction

FreeIPA is a robust open-source identity management system that integrates LDAP, Kerberos, DNS, and a Certificate Authority (CA). This guide will show you how to set up FreeIPA Server on CentOS 8 / RHEL 8.

Prerequisites

• A fresh CentOS 8 / RHEL 8 server
• A fully qualified domain name (FQDN), e.g., ipa.example.local
• Root or sudo privileges
• Static IP address (recommended)

Step 1: Update Your System

sudo dnf update -y
sudo dnf install -y vim bash-completion firewalld
sudo systemctl enable firewalld --now

Step 2: Set the Hostname

sudo hostnamectl set-hostname ipa.example.local
echo "127.0.0.1 ipa.example.local ipa" | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts

Step 3: Install FreeIPA Server

sudo dnf install -y ipa-server ipa-server-dns

Step 4: Configure FreeIPA

sudo ipa-server-install

For automated installation:

sudo ipa-server-install --unattended \
    --realm=EXAMPLE.LOCAL \
    --domain=example.local \
    --ds-password='StrongDS_Passw0rd!' \
    --admin-password='StrongAdmin_Passw0rd!' \
    --setup-dns \
    --auto-forwarders \
    --auto-reverse

Step 5: Configure Firewall

sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=freeipa-ldap
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=freeipa-ldaps
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=dns
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=kerberos
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=ntp
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Step 6: Verify Installation

kinit admin
klist

Step 7: Access Web Interface

Visit:

https://ipa.example.local

Conclusion

You now have FreeIPA Server running on CentOS 8 / RHEL 8, complete with DNS and web interface support.