3.26. Authentication Configuration
If you are performing a personal desktop, workstation or server
installation, please skip ahead to Section 3.27 Package Group Selection.
You may skip this section if you will not be setting up network
passwords. If you do not know whether you should do this, please ask
your system administrator for assistance.
Unless you are setting up NIS authentication, you will
notice that only MD5 and
shadow passwords are selected (see Figure 3-24). We recommend you use both to
make your machine as secure as possible.
To configure the NIS option, you must be connected to an NIS network. If
you are not sure whether you are connected to an NIS network, please ask
your system administrator.
Enable MD5 passwords — allows a
long password to be used (up to 256 characters), instead of the standard
eight characters or less.
Enable shadow passwords —
provides a secure method for retaining passwords. The passwords are
stored in /etc/shadow, which can only be read by
root.
Enable NIS — allows you to run a
group of computers in the same Network Information Service domain with a
common password and group file. You can choose from the following
options:
NIS Domain — allows you to
specify the domain or group of computers your system belongs to.
Use broadcast to find NIS server
— allows you to broadcast a message to your local area network
to find an available NIS server.
NIS Server — causes your
computer to use a specific NIS server, rather than broadcasting a
message to the local area network asking for any available server to
host your system.
 | Note |
|---|
| | If you have selected a medium or high
firewall to be setup during this installation, network
authentication methods (NIS and LDAP) will not work. |
Enable LDAP — tells your
computer to use LDAP for some or all authentication. LDAP consolidates
certain types of information within your organization. For example, all
of the different lists of users within your organization can be merged
into one LDAP directory. For more information about LDAP, refer to the
Red Hat Linux Reference Guide, Lightweight Directory Access
Protocol (LDAP). You can choose from the following options:
LDAP Server — allows you to
access a specified server (by providing an IP address) running the
LDAP protocol.
LDAP Base DN — allows you to
look up user information by its Distinguished Name (DN).
Use TLS (Transport Layer
Security) lookups — this
option allows LDAP to send encrypted user names and passwords to an
LDAP server before authentication.
Enable Kerberos — Kerberos is a
secure system for providing network authentication services. For more
information about Kerberos, see the chapter titled
Kerberos in the Red Hat Linux Reference Guide. There
are three options to choose from here:
Realm — this option allows
you to access a network that uses Kerberos, composed of one or a few
servers (also known as KDCs) and a potentially large number of
clients.
KDC — this option allows you
access to the Key Distribution Center (KDC), a machine that issues
Kerberos tickets (sometimes called a Ticket Granting Server or TGS).
Admin Server — this option
allows you to access a server running
kadmind.
Enable SMB Authentication — Sets
up PAM to use an SMB server to authenticate users. You must supply two
pieces of information here:
 | Tip |
|---|
| | To change your authentication configuration after
you have completed the installation, use the
authconfig command. Type the authconfig command in a shell prompt. If
you are not root, it will prompt you for the root password to
continue. |
