< Back to projects

IAM Platform: LDAP, Kerberos, LemonLDAP::NG

Master 2 - IAM Solo July 2026 Completed

Built a complete identity and access management infrastructure across several Debian VMs: a directory service, a Kerberos realm, a central SSO identity provider, and a series of web services each integrated with a different authentication method to verify that every building block interoperates correctly with the others.

IAM platform architecture Client browser / workstation LemonLDAP::NG IdP - SSO - SAML2 - TOTP OpenLDAP + SSSD identity directory Kerberos (KDC) LDAP-backed realm Web services Basic/LDAP/GSSAPI/SAML
The client authenticates via LemonLDAP::NG (SSO, TOTP), which relies on OpenLDAP/SSSD for the directory and a Kerberos realm for strong authentication; the web services (including DokuWiki) consume one or the other depending on the scenario under test.

What was built

  • Directory: OpenLDAP with SSSD integration on client machines for system-level identity resolution.
  • Kerberos: set up a simple realm first, then migrated it to an LDAP-backed realm (shared identity/authentication backend).
  • LemonLDAP::NG: installed and configured as the central identity provider, integrated with LDAP, Kerberos and TOTP for two-factor authentication.
  • Multi-site web services: several sites configured with different authentication methods - basic auth, direct LDAP, Kerberos-GSSAPI (transparent SSO), and SAML2 via LemonLDAP::NG.
  • DokuWiki: integrated both with direct LDAP authentication (the authldap module) and with SSO via SAML2 including group handling.

Graded assessment

The graded write-up covers precise technical questions on every building block: ldapsearch queries, administration via kadmin.local, Kerberos-GSSAPI authentication on Apache/PHP, LemonLDAP::NG SAML2 configuration (the MELLON_NAME_ID attribute for post-SSO identification), DokuWiki's authldap integration, and how it all ties into the PKI/mTLS setup built in other TPs of the same curriculum.

Tech stack

OpenLDAP SSSD Kerberos LemonLDAP::NG SAML2 TOTP DokuWiki Debian Apache