Server Suite Free Quick Start

Server Suite Free for Linux and UNIX is software that provides a basic set of features for cross-platform authentication and single sign-on using Active Directory. Server Suite Free for Linux and UNIX is available free of charge from the Delinea website.

After you install the agent and add the computer to an Active Directory domain, the computer becomes a Server Suite managed computer and is treated as an Active Directory client.

What you should know about using the Server Suite Free agent:

  • You don’t need to install any software on any Windows computers or domain controllers.
  • You don’t need to make any configuration or schema changes in Active Directory.
  • When users log on for the first time using an Active Directory user name and password, the agent automatically provisions the user identity, primary group ID, home directory, and default shell.
  • Users can log on with a user name in the format that they are most comfortable with. For example, they can log on using a familiar UNIX user name or the same name they use to log on to a Windows computer.
  • Local users with the same account name as Active Directory users are allowed to log on locally.
  • Local users can be mapped to Active Directory users so that existing accounts can be migrated.

Installing the Agent and Joining a Domain

To use Server Suite Free, you need to install a Server Suite Agent and join a domain. There are several options for installing the agent, including running an installation script locally, downloading a package from the Delinea repository to a local package manager, or installing remotely from a Windows computer using Server Suite Free.

The instruction here describe how to install using the default installation script. For information about installing using Server Suite Free, see Server Suite Free Administrator’s Guide for Linux and UNIX.

For most prompts, you can accept the default by pressing Enter. When prompted for the Active Directory domain, type the fully qualified name of the Active Directory domain to join.

To install an agent on a local computer:

  1. Make sure that you have the following information:

    • The root user name and password (or sudo rights) for the computer on which you are installing the agent.
    • The fully qualified name of the Active Directory domain to join.
    • The user name and password of an Active Directory account that has permission to join a computer to Active Directory.

  2. Using an account with root permissions, log on to the target UNIX or Linux computer.

  3. Go to the Delinea website and download the Server Suite agent for the platform you want to support.

  4. Select the file you downloaded and unzip and extract the contents using the appropriate operating system commands. For example:

    gunzip -d centrify-infrastructure-services-*<release>*-platform-arch.tgz

    tar -xf centrify-infrastructure-services-*<release>*-platform-arch.tar

  5. Run the install-express.sh script to start the installation on the local computer. For example:

    ./install-express.sh

  6. Follow the prompts displayed to check the computer for potential issues, install the agent, and join a domain automatically at the conclusion of the installation.

    If the adcheck program finds potential issues, you might see warning or error messages. Depending on the issue reported, you might have to make changes to the computer before continuing or after installation. For details about these messages and corrective actions, see Server Suite Free Administrator’s Guide for Linux and UNIX.

    For most prompts, you can accept the default by pressing Enter. When prompted for the Active Directory domain, type the fully qualified name of the Active Directory domain to join.

    You must also type the user name and password for an Active Directory user with permission to add computers to the domain.

  7. After you have responded to all of the prompts displayed, review your selections, then enter Y to finish the installation and reboot the computer.

Next steps

Steps that you can take after installing the agent include the following:

  • Explore Server Suite Agent features. For details about Server Suite Free features, see the Server Suite Free Administrator’s Guide for Linux and UNIX.
  • Browse the Delinea community forum. Go to http://community.centrify.com for discussions and articles about Server Suite Free for Linux and UNIX.
  • Install Server Suite Free. If you would like to use a single console to manage the authentication and single sign-on services provided by Server Suite Agents, download and install Server Suite Free. You can use Server Suitee Free to discover and analyze computers on your network, download software and install or update the Server Suite Agent on discovered computers. You can also useServer Suite Free to manage account information for remote UNIX users and groups, and to run programs on the computers that are discovered.

  • Upgrade to Server Suite. Server Suite is available for purchase and includes a common set of authentication and authorization features, including:

    • Zones. Zones provide a powerful and flexible structure for managing user identities, role-based access controls, and delegated administrative authority. The ability to create and manage zones is a key element of the Server Suite family of products.
    • Access controls. PAM and auto schema parameters are provided to grant or deny access for specific users or groups.
    • Policy support. Policy-based enforcement of computer and user configuration settings.
    • NIS support. Support for NIS map integration and migration.
    • Reports. Standard out-of-the-box reports and a report creation wizard.
    • Rights and roles. Rights and role-based entitlements for user accounts and privileged commands.
    • Commands and configuration parameters. Advanced command line programs and configuration parameters for tuning operations.
    • Smart card support. For Mac OS X and Red Hat users, the ability to use PIV or CAC smart cards for authentication and single sign-on.

In addition to these common features, edition-specific features such as auditing, computer isolation and encryption, and application-specific services are available depending on which edition you purchase.

For more information about Server Suite, see the Server Suite Free Administrator’s Guide for Linux and UNIX.