3rd December 2009

Installing OpenAFS and Kerberos on Ubuntu 9.10

This post is mainly written for the fine IT staff at the College of Public Programs, but if you’re an ASU student and need access to ASU’s AFS servers (more commonly referred to as My Docs), here’s what you do:

In a terminal running as root (you may need to type sudo su and enter the root password):

apt-get install openafs-client openafs-modules-dkms openafs-krb5 krb5-config krb5-user

In the installation process, when you’re presented with the “AFS cell this workstation belongs to” dialog, type in

asu.edu

The next dialog asks about the local AFS cache on your workstation.  The default is 50,000KB.  I normally accept this proposal.

OpenAFS and Kerberos are now installing themselves on your computer.  The process takes about 5-10 minutes depending on your hardware.  Quick note, however: the install will look like it’s hung.  It hasn’t; it’s just OpenAFS installing its kernel modules into DKMS.

Find krb5.conf at /etc/krb5.conf. Copy krb5.conf from another ASU machine, click here to download it, or modify it manually to contain:

[libdefaults]
default_realm = ASU.EDU
dns_lookup_kdc = true
default_tkt_enctypes = des3-hmac-sha1 des-cbc-crc
default_tgs_enctypes = des3-hmac-sha1 des-cbc-crc

[realms]

ASU.EDU = {
kdc = krb1.asu.edu:88
kdc = krb2.asu.edu:88
kdc = krb3.asu.edu:88
admin_server = krb1.asu.edu:749
default_domain = asu.edu
}

[domain_realm]
.asu.edu = ASU.EDU
asu.edu = ASU.EDU

[logging]
kdc = CONSOLE

Restart OpenAFS Client service

/etc/init.d/openafs-client restart

Now the tedious part.  Making sure you’re not root, each time you want to authenticate into AFS, in a terminal, run:

kinit asurite -l 1d

being sure to replace “asurite” with your actual ASURite ID.  You’ll be prompted to enter your password – it’s the same password you use to authenticate to other ASU services. Then:

aklog

And now you’re in!  If you have problems, then run (as root):

/etc/init.d/openafs-client restart

and if that fails, then check your network connectivity by going to a website like asu.edu.

Now, where are my files?  Each ASU student gets 4 GB of storage space that can be used for anything, really, but it’s most commonly used with My Apps.  If your ASURite id is “asurite”, then your space is accessed at /afs/asu.edu/users/a/s/u/asurite (note the three one-letter folders that correspond to the first three letters of your ASURite id.

And that’s it! Whenever a new kernel is released, DKMS will automatically rebuild the OpenAFS kernel modules into that new kernel.  It sure saves the hassle of having to rebuild the kernel modules by hand.

-Edward Jensen

  • OpenAFS and Ubuntu 10.04 installation: leave the first dialog box blank (the one asking about the Kerberos realm), then type in "asu.edu" in the second dialog box. Everything else is the same.
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