Unlocking the Power of Integrated Windows Authentication: A Step-by-Step Guide to Connecting Ansible on Linux to MSSQL DB Server

As the world of automation and infrastructure management continues to evolve, the need for seamless integrations between different systems and technologies has become a top priority. In this article, we’ll delve into the process of creating an integrated Windows authentication connection to an MSSQL DB server from Ansible on a Linux host. Yes, you read that right – we’ll bridge the gap between the Windows and Linux worlds to achieve a secure and efficient connection!

Why Integrated Windows Authentication?

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of the process, let’s quickly discuss why integrated Windows authentication is a game-changer. By leveraging the power of Windows authentication, we can eliminate the need for explicit username and password credentials, reducing the risk of credential exposure and simplifying the authentication process. This approach also enables us to take advantage of Windows’ built-in security features, such as Kerberos and NTLM, to ensure a secure connection to the MSSQL DB server.

Prerequisites and Requirements

Before we begin, make sure you have the following components in place:

• A Linux host with Ansible installed (we’ll use Ubuntu 20.04 as our example)
• A Windows-based MSSQL DB server (we’ll use MSSQL Server 2019 as our example)
• A fully functional Windows Active Directory (AD) environment
• A Linux-based DNS server (optional but recommended for resolving Windows hostnames)
• The necessary firewall rules and network configurations to allow communication between the Linux host and the Windows-based MSSQL DB server

Step 1: Installing the Required Packages on the Linux Host

To facilitate the integrated Windows authentication connection, we’ll need to install a few essential packages on our Linux host:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y krb5-user krb5-config libkrb5-dev libgssapi-krb5-2
sudo apt-get install -y python3-pip
sudo pip3 install pywinrm[kerberos]

These packages will enable us to work with Kerberos and NTLM authentication mechanisms, as well as provide the necessary Python libraries for Ansible to interface with the Windows-based MSSQL DB server.

Step 2: Configuring Kerberos on the Linux Host

Next, we’ll need to configure Kerberos on our Linux host to enable communication with the Windows-based MSSQL DB server:

sudo krb5-config

This will launch the Kerberos configuration tool, where we’ll specify the following settings:

Setting	Value
Kerberos Realm	EXAMPLE.COM (replace with your Windows AD domain)
KDC Server	your.windows.ad.dns.name (replace with your Windows AD DNS name)

Save and close the configuration file. We’ll also need to create a Kerberos keytab file using the following command:

sudo kinit -k -t /etc/krb5.keytab your_windows_ad_username@EXAMPLE.COM

Replace “your_windows_ad_username” with a valid Windows AD username and “EXAMPLE.COM” with your Windows AD domain.

Step 3: Creating an Ansible Inventory File

Now that we have Kerberos configured on our Linux host, let’s create an Ansible inventory file to define our Windows-based MSSQL DB server:

[windows]
mssql-server.windows.example.com

[windows:vars]
ansible_connection=winrm
ansible_winrm_transport=kerberos
ansible_winrm_kerberos_hostname=mssql-server.windows.example.com
ansible_winrm_kerberos_username=your_windows_ad_username
ansible_winrm_kerberos_password=your_windows_ad_password

Replace “mssql-server.windows.example.com” with the hostname of your Windows-based MSSQL DB server, “your_windows_ad_username” with a valid Windows AD username, and “your_windows_ad_password” with the corresponding password.

Step 4: Creating an Ansible Playbook

With our inventory file in place, let’s create a simple Ansible playbook to test our integrated Windows authentication connection:

---
- name: Test integrated Windows authentication connection to MSSQL DB server
  hosts: windows
  gather_facts: no

  tasks:
  - name: Get MSSQL DB server version
    win_mssql_query:
      login_username: "{{ ansible_winrm_kerberos_username }}"
      login_password: "{{ ansible_winrm_kerberos_password }}"
      instance: "MSSQLSERVER"
      query: "SELECT @@VERSION"
    register: mssql_version

  - name: Display MSSQL DB server version
    debug:
      msg: "MSSQL DB server version: {{ mssql_version.stdout }}"

  - name: Get MSSQL DB server database list
    win_mssql_query:
      login_username: "{{ ansible_winrm_kerberos_username }}"
      login_password: "{{ ansible_winrm_kerberos_password }}"
      instance: "MSSQLSERVER"
      query: "SELECT name FROM sys.databases"
    register: mssql_databases

  - name: Display MSSQL DB server database list
    debug:
      msg: "MSSQL DB server databases: {{ mssql_databases.stdout }}"

This playbook uses the “win_mssql_query” module to execute SQL queries against the MSSQL DB server, leveraging our integrated Windows authentication connection.

Step 5: Running the Ansible Playbook

Finally, let’s run our Ansible playbook to test our integrated Windows authentication connection:

ansible-playbook -i inventory.ini playbook.yml

If everything is configured correctly, you should see the MSSQL DB server version and database list output in the Ansible playbook execution results.

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve successfully bridged the gap between the Linux and Windows worlds, creating an integrated Windows authentication connection to an MSSQL DB server from Ansible on a Linux host. By following these steps, you’ll be able to leverage the power of Windows authentication to simplify and secure your automation workflows.

Remember to stay tuned for more articles and tutorials on Ansible, Windows, and MSSQL, as we continue to explore the vast landscape of automation and infrastructure management.

Happy automating!

Additional Resources

For further learning and exploration, be sure to check out the following resources:

• Ansible documentation: https://docs.ansible.com/
• Microsoft MSSQL Server documentation: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/?view=sql-server-ver15
• Windows Active Directory documentation: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/identity/ad-ds/get-started/ad-ds-administration

We hope you found this article informative and helpful. Happy automating, and we’ll see you in the next tutorial!

Frequently Asked Question

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