postgresqlHow do I set up PostgreSQL Kerberos authentication?

1. Install Kerberos client libraries and configure the krb5.conf file to point to the Kerberos server.
2. Create a service principal for PostgreSQL on the Kerberos server.

   $ kadmin.local
   kadmin.local: addprinc postgres/<hostname>@<REALM>

3. Generate a keytab for the service principal.

   $ kadmin.local
   kadmin.local: xst -k postgres.keytab postgres/<hostname>@<REALM>

4. Configure PostgreSQL to use Kerberos authentication. Edit the pg_hba.conf file to include the following line:

host    all             all             <hostname>/32            gss include_realm=1

5. Configure the PostgreSQL server to use the keytab file. Edit the postgresql.conf file to include the following lines:

krb_server_keyfile = '/path/to/postgres.keytab'
krb_caseins_users = off

6. Restart the PostgreSQL server.

   $ sudo systemctl restart postgresql

7. Test Kerberos authentication by connecting to the PostgreSQL server using the Kerberos user.

   $ psql -h <hostname> -U <username>

Explanation

1. Install Kerberos client libraries and configure the krb5.conf file to point to the Kerberos server.
   • This step installs the necessary Kerberos libraries and configures the krb5.conf file to point to the Kerberos server.
2. Create a service principal for PostgreSQL on the Kerberos server.
   • This step creates a service principal for PostgreSQL on the Kerberos server.
3. Generate a keytab for the service principal.
   • This step generates a keytab for the service principal, which is necessary for authentication.
4. Configure PostgreSQL to use Kerberos authentication.
   • This step configures PostgreSQL to use Kerberos authentication by adding a line to the pg_hba.conf file.
5. Configure the PostgreSQL server to use the keytab file.
   • This step configures the PostgreSQL server to use the keytab file by adding two lines to the postgresql.conf file.
6. Restart the PostgreSQL server.
   • This step restarts the PostgreSQL server to apply the changes.
7. Test Kerberos authentication by connecting to the PostgreSQL server using the Kerberos user.
   • This step tests Kerberos authentication by connecting to the PostgreSQL server using the Kerberos user.

Relevant Links

• Kerberos Authentication Setup for PostgreSQL
• Kerberos Configuration Files
• PostgreSQL Authentication Configuration File

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