7. System administration

This chapter covers low-level configuration and operational tasks for technical administrators managing Nubus for UCS systems. It includes system configuration, administrative access, regional settings, service management, scheduled tasks, logging, diagnostics, and platform-level topics such as the kernel, boot process, network configuration, and proxy settings.

Univention Configuration Registry

Manage system settings through Univention Configuration Registry (UCR), the central tool for managing configuration on Nubus for UCS systems. Configure settings using the command-line interface, the web-based management UI, or configuration policies that apply across multiple systems. UCR automatically regenerates configuration files from templates when settings change, eliminating the need for manual file editing. See Configure the local system with Univention Configuration Registry.

Administrative access and authentication

Manage administrative access to Nubus for UCS systems. This includes the local root account, SSH access, and PAM-based authentication restrictions for selected services. See Administrative access and authentication.

Regional settings

Configure language, locale, keyboard, time zone, and time synchronization settings for Nubus for UCS systems. See Regional settings.

Service management and system integration

Manage system services and configure service-related integration settings. This includes service startup behavior, LDAP server selection, print server settings, and the name service cache daemon. See Service management and system integration.

Run recurring actions with cron

Schedule recurring tasks on Nubus for UCS systems. This includes predefined cron directories, local cron jobs in /etc/cron.d/, and cron jobs through Univention Configuration Registry. See Run recurring actions with cron.

Log files and log rotation

Find log file locations and configure log rotation on Nubus for UCS systems. This includes listener module log files and their dedicated log rotation settings. See Log files and log rotation.

System diagnostics

Inspect the current state of a Nubus for UCS system and diagnose common problems. This includes command-line system status logging and diagnostic functions in the Management UI. See System diagnostics.

Kernel

Manage kernel packages, kernel versions, and kernel modules. This includes loading additional drivers, blacklisting unwanted modules, and integrating external drivers through Dynamic Kernel Module Support (DKMS). See Kernel.

Boot manager

Configure GRUB, the boot manager in Nubus for UCS. Control the boot timeout, screen resolution, kernel options, and which kernel the system boots by default. See Boot manager.

Network configuration

Configure network interfaces and advanced network setups such as bridging for virtual machines, bonding for failover redundancy, and VLANs for logical traffic separation. See Network configuration.

Proxy settings

Route outbound traffic from command-line tools and Nubus for UCS update utilities through a proxy server using UCR variables. See Configure proxy settings through UCR variables.

Contents

• 7.1. Configure the local system with Univention Configuration Registry
  • 7.1.1. Manage UCR variables in the Management UI
    • 7.1.1.1. Manage a UCR variable
    • 7.1.1.2. Create a UCR variable
  • 7.1.2. Manage UCR variables on the command line
    • 7.1.2.1. Query a UCR variable
    • 7.1.2.2. Display all UCR variables
    • 7.1.2.3. Set a UCR variable
    • 7.1.2.4. Search for variables
    • 7.1.2.5. Delete a UCR variable
    • 7.1.2.6. Regenerate a configuration file from its template
    • 7.1.2.7. Use UCR variables in shell scripts
  • 7.1.3. UCR variable precedence
  • 7.1.4. Modify UCR templates
    • 7.1.4.1. Reference UCR variables in templates
    • 7.1.4.2. Integrate inline Python code in templates
    • 7.1.4.3. Register UCR variables in an info file
  • 7.1.5. Configure UCR variables with policies
• 7.2. Administrative access and authentication
  • 7.2.1. Administrative access with the root account
  • 7.2.2. SSH sign-in to systems
    • 7.2.2.1. X11 forwarding
    • 7.2.2.2. Change the standard SSH port
  • 7.2.3. Authentication with PAM
• 7.3. Regional settings
  • 7.3.1. Language, locale, and keyboard settings
  • 7.3.2. Time zone and time synchronization
• 7.4. Service management and system integration
  • 7.4.1. Manage system services
  • 7.4.2. Configure the LDAP server
  • 7.4.3. Configure the print server
  • 7.4.4. Name service cache daemon
• 7.5. Run recurring actions with cron
  • 7.5.1. Predefined cron directories
  • 7.5.2. Define local cron jobs in /etc/cron.d/
  • 7.5.3. Define cron jobs in Univention Configuration Registry
• 7.6. Log files and log rotation
  • 7.6.1. Log file locations
  • 7.6.2. Log rotation
  • 7.6.3. Listener module log files
    • 7.6.3.1. Global listener module logrotate settings
    • 7.6.3.2. Per-log-file overrides
• 7.7. System diagnostics
  • 7.7.1. Command-line diagnostics
  • 7.7.2. Diagnostics in the Management UI
    • 7.7.2.1. View processes in the Management UI
    • 7.7.2.2. Run system diagnostics in the Management UI
• 7.8. Kernel
  • 7.8.1. Kernel packages
  • 7.8.2. Version management
  • 7.8.3. Kernel modules and drivers
    • 7.8.3.1. Boot process and driver loading
    • 7.8.3.2. Automatic driver detection
    • 7.8.3.3. Standard vs. external drivers
    • 7.8.3.4. External drivers and DKMS
• 7.9. Boot manager
  • 7.9.1. Boot loading process
  • 7.9.2. Kernel selection
  • 7.9.3. Configuration
• 7.10. Network configuration
  • 7.10.1. Basic network configuration
    • 7.10.1.1. Configure IPv4 addresses
    • 7.10.1.2. Configure IPv6 addresses
    • 7.10.1.3. Configure gateways
    • 7.10.1.4. Define name servers
  • 7.10.2. Advanced network configurations
    • 7.10.2.1. Configure bridging
    • 7.10.2.2. Configure bonding
    • 7.10.2.3. Configure VLAN
• 7.11. Configure proxy settings through UCR variables
  • 7.11.1. Configure proxy access
  • 7.11.2. Exclude domains from proxy access
  • 7.11.3. Session behavior
  • 7.11.4. Integration with Nubus for UCS tools