Client Configuration Options

A new feature in the Solaris 10 release is the kclient configuration utility. The utility can be run in interactive mode or noninteractive mode. In interactive mode, the user is prompted for Kerberos-specific parameter values, which allows the user to make changes to the existing installation when configuring the client. In noninteractive mode, a file with previously set parameter values is used. Also, command-line options can be used in the noninteractive mode. Both interactive and noninteractive modes require less steps than the manual process, which should make the process quicker and less prone to error.

In the Solaris Express Developer Edition 1/08 release, changes were made to allow for a zero-configuration Kerberos client. If these rules are followed in your environment then no explicit configuration procedure is necessary for a Solaris Kerberos client:

• DNS is configured to return SRV records for KDCs.

• The realm name matches the DNS domain name or the KDC supports referrals.

• The Kerberos client does not require a keytab.

In some cases it may be better to explicitly configure the Kerberos client:

• If referrals are not used, the zero-configuration logic depends on the DNS domain name of the host to determine the realm. This introduces a small security risk, but the risk is much smaller than enabling dns_lookup_realm.

• The pam_krb5 module relies on a host key entry in the keytab. This requirement may be disabled in the krb5.conf file however it is not recommend for security reasons. See the krb5.conf(4)man page.

• The zero-configuration process is less efficient than direct configuration, and has a greater reliance on DNS. The process performs more DNS lookups than a directly configured client.

See Configuring Kerberos Clients for a description of all the client configuration processes.