FedFsInstallNsdbConnParams0.9

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Revision as of 22:17, 19 October 2012

Project: fedfs-utils

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Introduction

This article describes how to set up an NSDB connection parameter database. This database is used to store NSDB network location and security information on fileservers and FedFS administrative clients.

Before a fileserver can create and resolve FedFS junctions, or a FedFS administrative client can contact an NSDB, information about how to connect to the NSDB must be stored locally. This information consists of details about the NSDB's hostname and port number, possibly an x.509 certificate that can authenticate the NSDB, and other information.

Setting up the NSDB connection parameters database is a simple step, but is a requirement for fileservers and administrative tools that connect to a FedFS domain's NSDB.

Pre-packaged install

Install the "nsdbparams" command on each fileserver on which you intend to create FedFS junctions. It is also required on any host where you intend to run tools to administer an NSDB.

If you are running Fedora 19, you can install a pre-packaged version of fedfs-utils-0.9. The nsdbparams command is installed with:

# yum install fedfs-utils-nsdbparam

This installs a pre-built nsdbparams command.

Build from scratch

If your distribution does not provide a pre-packaged version of fedfs-utils-0.9, follow these steps instead.

Build fedfs-utils

Unpack the fedfs-utils-0.9 tarball somewhere convenient. For example:

$ cd fedfs-utils-0.9
$ ./configure
$ make

Install the "nsdbparams" command:

# cd fedfs-utils-0.9/src/nsdbparams ; make install

If you're feeling brave, a single "make install" in the top level directory should take care of all of this, and install lovely man pages to boot.

Create the database and add an NSDB

When you have set up an LDAP server to be an NSDB, you will know the hostname and port number that can be used to identify the NSDB. For example, suppose your NSDB will reside on the host nsdb.example.net, and it listens on the standard LDAP port. On your fileserver, start with this:

# nsdbparams update nsdb.example.net

This allows the fileserver to contact this LDAP server to resolve junctions. The fileserver will use in-the-clear network requests. The act of creating a record for the first NSDB automatically initializes the NSDB connection parameter database on your fileserver.

To see information about this NSDB's connection parameters, use:

# nsdbparams show nsdb.example.net

Each NSDB that your fileserver contacts must have an entry in the fileserver's NSDB connection parameters database. For example, a fileserver in a FedFS domain that employs a single NSDB typically has just one entry in its NSDB connection parameter database.

Additional parameters

There is some additional information that can be stored in a NSDB connection parameter database.

You can allow fileservers to follow LDAP referrals when performing NSDB queries. This is useful if you have multiple LDAP servers and want to use LDAP referrals to direct NSDB queries to a particular host. Use the -R option to enable this feature:

# nsdbparams update -R yes nsdb.example.net

The default is to prohibit LDAP referral following as a security precaution.

On your administrative hosts, it is convenient to specify the NSDB administrative DN and the NCE to use for administrative operations. If you do this, you don't need to specify these each time you invoke an NSDB administrative tool. Use the -D option to specify the admin DN, and the -e option to specify the default NCE. For example:

# nsdbparams update -D cn=Manager,cn=config -e ou=fedfs,dc=example,dc=net nsdb.example.net

These settings apply only to one NSDB.