Home Lab File Server - Ansible Deployment

This Ansible project deploys a Kerberos-authenticated file server with SMB (Samba) and NFS support on Debian systems. It includes optional MIT Kerberos KDC deployment for complete authentication infrastructure.

🚀 Quick Start: See QUICKSTART.md for one-command deployment!

Project Structure

.
├── ansible.cfg              # Ansible configuration
├── inventory/
│   └── hosts.yml           # Inventory file with file server hosts
├── playbooks/
│   └── site.yml            # Main playbook
├── roles/                  # Ansible roles (created in subsequent tasks)
├── group_vars/
│   └── fileservers.yml     # Variables for fileservers group
├── host_vars/
│   └── fileserver01.yml    # Host-specific variables
└── templates/              # Jinja2 templates (created in subsequent tasks)

Prerequisites

• Ansible 2.9 or higher installed on the controller
• Debian 11 or higher on target file server
• SSH access to target server with sudo privileges
• Kerberos KDC available (MIT Kerberos or Active Directory)
  • Option 1: Use the included KDC role to deploy MIT Kerberos (see KDC Setup)
  • Option 2: Use existing Kerberos infrastructure

Quick Start

Option A: All-in-One (Recommended for Home Labs)

Deploy both KDC and file server on a single host:

# 1. Configure settings
vim group_vars/kdc.yml
vim group_vars/fileservers.yml

# 2. Encrypt sensitive data
ansible-vault encrypt group_vars/kdc.yml

# 3. Deploy everything
./scripts/deploy-all-in-one.sh

See All-in-One Setup Guide for details.

Option B: Deploy Everything (Separate KDC + File Server)

1. Deploy Kerberos KDC (if you don't have one):

   # Configure KDC settings
   vim group_vars/kdc.yml
   
   # Deploy KDC
   ./scripts/deploy-kdc.sh

   See KDC Quick Start for details.

2. Deploy File Server:

   # Configure file server settings
   vim group_vars/fileservers.yml
   
   # Deploy file server
   ansible-playbook playbooks/site.yml

Option C: Deploy File Server Only (Existing KDC)

1. Update inventory file with your file server details:

   vim inventory/hosts.yml

2. Configure variables for your environment:

   vim group_vars/fileservers.yml

3. Run the playbook:

   ansible-playbook playbooks/site.yml

Configuration

Kerberos Settings

Edit group_vars/fileservers.yml to configure Kerberos:

• krb5_realm: Your Kerberos realm (e.g., HOMELAB.LOCAL)
• krb5_kdc: KDC server address
• krb5_admin_server: Kadmin server address

Shares

Define shares in group_vars/fileservers.yml:

shares:
  - path: "/srv/shares/myshare"
    owner: "root"
    group: "users"
    mode: "0775"

Samba Configuration

Configure SMB shares in samba_shares variable.

NFS Configuration

Configure NFS exports in nfs_exports variable.

Usage

Deploy Kerberos KDC

# Quick deployment
./scripts/deploy-kdc.sh

# Or manually
ansible-playbook playbooks/kdc.yml --ask-vault-pass

Deploy File Server

Run the complete deployment:

ansible-playbook playbooks/site.yml

Check syntax:

ansible-playbook playbooks/site.yml --syntax-check

Dry run:

ansible-playbook playbooks/site.yml --check

Mount SMB Shares

See User Management and Mounting Guide for detailed instructions.

Quick example:

# Get Kerberos ticket
kinit [email protected]

# Mount share
sudo mount -t cifs //fileserver01.cube.k8s/socialpro /mnt/socialpro \
    -o sec=krb5,user=username

Kerberos KDC Setup

This project includes a complete MIT Kerberos KDC deployment role.

Quick KDC Deployment

1. Configure group_vars/kdc.yml:

   kdc_realm: "CUBE.K8S"
   kdc_domain: "cube.k8s"
   kdc_master_password: "YourStrongPassword"
   kdc_admin_password: "YourStrongPassword"

2. Encrypt sensitive data:

   ansible-vault encrypt group_vars/kdc.yml

3. Deploy:

   ./scripts/deploy-kdc.sh

Documentation

• All-in-One Setup: docs/all-in-one-setup.md ⭐ Recommended for home labs
• Quick Start: docs/kdc-quick-start.md
• Complete Guide: docs/kdc-setup-guide.md
• User Management: docs/user-management-and-mounting.md
• Architecture: docs/architecture-diagram.md

Roles

Implemented Roles

• common: Base system configuration
• kerberos-client: Kerberos client setup and keytab management
• kerberos-kdc: MIT Kerberos KDC deployment (optional)
• shares: Share directory management
• samba: SMB file sharing with Kerberos authentication
• nfs-server: NFS file sharing (to be implemented)

Role Documentation

Each role includes detailed documentation in its README:

• kerberos-kdc

Next Steps

The roles will be implemented in subsequent tasks:

• common: Base system configuration ✅
• kerberos-client: Kerberos client setup ✅
• kerberos-kdc: MIT Kerberos KDC deployment ✅
• shares: Share directory management ✅
• samba: SMB file sharing ✅
• nfs-server: NFS file sharing (in progress)