Free Online Course · Self-paced

OpenLDAP Tutorial for Beginners - Install, Configure, Replicate

Free, hands-on OpenLDAP tutorial - install on RHEL/CentOS/Rocky/Ubuntu, configure TLS, set up master-slave and multi-master replication, integrate Linux clients, and migrate from one server to another. 12 production-tested lessons.

  • 12 parts
  • ~105 min total
  • Beginner to Advanced
  • Updated May 2026
Start the course View syllabus
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OpenLDAP remains the most widely deployed open-source directory server, and almost every centralized-authentication question in Linux eventually leads back to it. This tutorial takes you from a clean Linux VM all the way to a TLS-secured, replicated, production-ready OpenLDAP deployment - using the same playbook real sysadmins follow.

We start with the absolute fundamentals (what LDAP actually is, why DNs and schemas matter), then install OpenLDAP on multiple distributions, lock it down with TLS, configure replication for high availability, and finally integrate Linux clients so users can log in with their LDAP credentials. Every chapter is short and idempotent, every command is tested on a fresh Linux VM.

If you are new to LDAP, click Start the course and read the LDAP Concepts chapter first - it will save you hours of confusion later. If you already understand the protocol, jump straight to your distribution in the install chapter.

What you'll learn

  • Install and configure OpenLDAP on RHEL/CentOS/Rocky/Ubuntu from scratch
  • Secure your directory with TLS certificates and configure clients to use LDAPS
  • Configure master-slave (mirror) and multi-master replication topologies
  • Integrate Linux clients with the LDAP server for centralized authentication
  • Migrate existing user data into OpenLDAP and operate the server day-2

Prerequisites

  • Two Linux VMs (RHEL 8+, Rocky 8/9, CentOS Stream, or Ubuntu 22.04+) for the replication chapters
  • Root or sudo access
  • Basic Linux command-line knowledge (systemctl, firewall-cmd / ufw, vim)
  • A solid grasp of LDAP concepts - if not, start with the linked "Basics of OpenLDAP" article

Syllabus

6 chapters · 12 lessons · ~105 min of reading

  1. 1 LDAP Concepts (start here if new to LDAP) 1 lesson
    1. Part 1 Basics of OpenLDAP - terminologies, daemons, schema 13 min read
  2. 2 Install and Configure OpenLDAP 3 lessons
    1. Part 2 Install OpenLDAP on CentOS 7 12 min read
    2. Part 3 Install OpenLDAP on Rocky Linux 8 4 min read
    3. Part 4 Install OpenLDAP on Ubuntu - step by step 8 min read
  3. 3 Secure with TLS / SSL 2 lessons
    1. Part 5 Set up OpenLDAP over SSL/TLS on Rocky Linux 12 min read
    2. Part 6 Configure OpenLDAP with TLS certificates 12 min read
  4. 4 Centralized Authentication for Linux Clients 3 lessons
    1. Part 7 Configure an LDAP client for authentication 7 min read
    2. Part 8 LDAP client setup on RHEL/CentOS 8 5 min read
    3. Part 9 Central authentication server with OpenLDAP + nslcd 10 min read
  5. 5 Replication 2 lessons
    1. Part 10 Master-slave (mirror) replication setup 7 min read
    2. Part 11 Multi-master replication setup 9 min read
  6. 6 Migration and Data Management 1 lesson
    1. Part 12 Migrate users and groups into OpenLDAP 6 min read
Deepak Prasad

R&D Engineer

Founder of GoLinuxCloud with over a decade of expertise in Linux, Python, Go, Laravel, DevOps, Kubernetes, Git, Shell scripting, OpenShift, AWS, Networking, and Security. With extensive experience, he excels across development, DevOps, …

Certifications
  • Red Hat Certified System Administrator in Red Hat OpenStack
  • Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)
  • Red Hat Certified Specialist in Ansible Automation
Expertise
  • Go (programming language)
  • Python (programming language)
  • DevOps
  • Computer Security